Regarding smocks, drab

[gi0rgos p]

Hi all!

I have been looking for period photos showing the use of smocks, drab by British/Commonwealth forces during ww2. I have only found one, of an SAS officer in Italy.

With the majority of these seen dated '42 or '43, it doesn't look like they were actually a very favoured piece of uniform at the time, compared to their later use, up to Gulf War 1.

I would be really interested to see more opinions on this subject!

Regards, Giorgos

[tinlid]

Hi Giorgos,
They were I'm pretty sure surposed to be used by mountain troops, there are some pictures in, British army uniforms & insignia of ww2 by Brian L Davis, Pages 214-215.
There are other pictures in books of the 52nd inf, div wearing them aswell, they were trained in mountain warfare.
Aaron

[gi0rgos p]

Hi Aaron!

I found some more photos of them in use, it was a photo of Anders Lassen, another of an SBS man in the Adriatic, along with some Italian POWs and a third one by 2 SBS men (described in other captions as men of the Sacred Squadron) in the Aegean. None of them in the desert, though, where it looks like an impression would be historically more accurate with the use of a shirt and a v-neck jumper!

I have also seen the 52nd Lowland Div. in training photos, but I thought that these depicted were the green ones, maybe I had the wrong impression!

Thanks for the heads up about the reference material!

Regards, Giorgos

[Chris S]

I have photographs of No 2 Commando in Italy around April 1945 wearing Denison Smocks. Regards Chris S.