KD tunic with removed para wings

[Jerry B]

Picked this up today and noticed it has had a pair of para wings removed, along with a pair of formation signs. No stamps or labels inside that I have found so far, but it is probably a private purchase and might not have any. I have been told that the button arrangement would be for a Scottish unit, the Scots Guards, though I have yet to research this.

Thanks for any comments.

[Battery Command Post]

Wow, i like that!

I've never seen a KD like that before. From the design of the pockets, the general cut and the button arrangement, it definitely belonged to an officer from the Scots Guards. I personally haven't seen a KD in Guards 'cut' before. It should narrow down the research a bit though.

If he's a Guardsman, he would have worn Guards-style pips too, although he could have been a former Guardsman transferred to the another unit (Parachute Regt?), keeping his 'higher status' visible

Nice find

Rob

[Jerry B]

Wow, i like that!

I've never seen a KD like that before. From the design of the pockets, the general cut and the button arrangement, it must have belonged to an officer from the Scots Guards. I personally haven't seen a KD in Guards 'cut' before. It should narrow down the research a bit though.

If he's a Guardsman, he would have worn Guards-style pips too, although he could have been a former Guardsman transferred to the another unit (Parachute Regt?), keeping his 'higher status' visible

Nice find

Rob

Sadly it has been messed with and probably had it's original pips and buttons replaced (along with the removed wings and formation patches), so he might have been a different rank. I really like it and it was very sensibly priced, IMO.

Also it has press studs sewn under the breast pocket flaps.

[Jerry B]

I just did a quick search of the Scots Guards areas of service in WWII and they were in Africa and Italy, but not in the far east.

North Africa: Halfaya 1941, Sidi Suleiman, Tobruk 1941, Gazala, Knightsbridge, Defence of Alamein Line, Medenine, Tadjera Khir, Medjez Plain, Grich el Oued, Djebel Bou Aoukaz 1943 I, (North Africa 1941–43)

Italy: Salerno, Battipaglia, Volturno Crossing, Rocchetta e Croce, Monte Camino, Campoleone, Carroceto, Trasimene Line, Advance to Florence, Monte San Michele, Catarelto Ridge, Argenta Gap, (Italy 1943–45)

[Battery Command Post]

Sadly it has been messed with and probably had it's original pips and buttons replaced (along with the removed wings and formation patches), so he might have been a different rank. I really like it and it was very sensibly priced, IMO..

I imagine the rank is probably correct, i.e that he was a Lieutenant, what i meant is the pips are the wrong pattern for a Scots Guards officer. Those pips are 'Order of the Bath' stars, whereas the S Gds used 'Order of the Thistle' stars. They are hard to find, but would look really nice on it, along with some regimental buttons. The jacket could have been used post-WW2, by an officer from the Guards Independent Parachute Company (formed 1948), but of course, mostl members of the Parachute Regt after its formation in WW2 came from other units, and many kept their previous regimental distinctions.

Rob

[A.J. Zawadzki]

Sadly it has been messed with and probably had it's original pips and buttons replaced (along with the removed wings and formation patches), so he might have been a different rank. I really like it and it was very sensibly priced, IMO.

Jerry, nice find! Reminds me a lot about the KD tunic I found that originated from a Polish 2nd Corps (British 8th Army, Mediterranean theatre) veteran’s estate. Buttons and insignia stripped, but belt (sewn on at the back) intact and in overall good shape. Most importantly, a genuine piece. Also purchased for a good price, and a perfect candidate for restoration with genuine period parts. In this case, a lance sergeant of the 3rd Carpathian Rifles Division.

Cheers,
Tony

[Jerry B]

I imagine the rank is probably correct, i.e that he was a Lieutenant, what i meant is the pips are the wrong pattern for a Scots Guards officer. Those pips are 'Order of the Bath' stars, whereas the S Gds used 'Order of the Thistle' stars. They are hard to find, but would look really nice on it, along with some regimental buttons. The jacket could have been used post-WW2, by an officer from the Guards Independent Parachute Company (formed 1948), but of course, mostl members of the Parachute Regt after its formation in WW2 came from other units, and many kept their previous regimental distinctions.

Rob

Hi Rob, what I mean't was that I am pretty certain the pips and the buttons have been replaced with whatever the dealer had and are not original to it, though he Probably was a Lieutenant or a Lieutenant Colonel.

[Jerry B]

Jerry, nice find! Reminds me a lot about the KD tunic I found that originated from a Polish 2nd Corps (British 8th Army, Mediterranean theatre) veteran’s estate. Buttons and insignia stripped, but belt (sewn on at the back) intact and in overall good shape. Most importantly, a genuine piece. Also purchased for a good price, and a perfect candidate for restoration with genuine period parts. In this case, a lance sergeant of the 3rd Carpathian Rifles Division.

Cheers,
Tony

Hi Tony, yours looks really good and I intend to restore this with the correct insignia when I can, though I am not sure what the formation patches would have been.

[Battery Command Post]

Hi Tony, yours looks really good and I intend to restore this with the correct insignia when I can, though I am not sure what the formation patches would have been.

The formation signs might well be the airborne Pegasus ones.

Rob

[Jerry B]

The formation signs might well be the airborne Pegasus ones.

Rob

I thought the sewing holes outlined something that looks a bit smaller than the Pegasus patch. He might be jump qualified but not in an airborne unit and might be guards armoured or G patrol LRDG etc... I assumed that it was possible to do the jump training without being in the Paras, though I have to admit I don't know the intracacies of the Paras.