1940 or 1937 Battledress Blouse ??

[jwp]

Spotted this BD for sale, it is labelled as a 1940 pattern but to my inexperienced eye it seem to resemble a 1937 pattern, not sure the Home Guard titles look quite period, any thoughts on this one would be much appreciated,
Thanks,
John.

[Roger M]

As I understand it the Battledress Serge 1937 is very similar to the Battledress Serge 1940 only a collar lining and an internal pocket different. The austerity pattern ,also known as the 1940 Pattern looks very different with flat pockets and uncovered buttons.

[Adrian Stevenson]

Good original blouse.

The confusion here comes about due to collectors terminology. Years ago every fly fronted, pleated pocket BD was "37" pattern. But the label is correct.

Cheers, Ade.

[jwp]

Ade, Roger,
many thanks for your replies, much appreciated,
kind regards,
John.

[Jerry B]

The early versions of the 40 pattern look very similar to the Battle dress serge (AKA 37 pattern) and it was only in autumn 1942 that the austerity version of the 40 pattern was introduced, known to most as the Austerity Pattern. Very occasionally the Austerity pattern is found with a 42 pattern label, but these are very uncommon and most are found labelled as 40 pattern but with the exposed buttons typical of the type.

[jwp]

many thanks Jerry.

[Adrian Stevenson]

Going off at a tangent here, but this week at work, there was a very curious BD blouse. To all appearances at first glance it was a tailored 1940 Austerity blouse: exposed buttons to the front and un-pleated patch pockets, but with a open collar. However, it was only when I picked it up and looked inside it was clearly labeled 1949 pattern and was 50's dated! The I Pad batteries had died so it will be next month before I can get some pics.

Cheers, Ade.

[jwp]

I took the plunge and bought this BD, it seems in good order, the home guard titles were only just hanging on, they seem to have been a recent addition as they have not left any marks on the bd. I was thinking about adding some of my Father's 78 div printed div badges and the Africa star ribbon as in the attached pic, that's all the insignia I can make out on the pic, no RASC insignia except the cap badge, what's your thoughts on this ?,
regards, John.

[jwp]

Just a quick Question ! is there a regulation distance from the top seam of the sleeve to where the divisional patch should be placed ?,
regards, John.

[Poland]

Hi John, It was rare for units in Italy to use the curved shoulder title - most didn't even get them until the war ended, so for most cases, a Divisional Badge and AoS strip is correct.

There IS a regulation distance but look at the massive variations in the positioning on original blouses will tell you that many were never told what this was, or if they did know, the guesstimated it.

If you're going for 78th Division badges, ensure you get the correct wartime pattern.