Mark,
Probably more true in the era of '68 patt kit (although, as always, varying by Regimental tradition/convention)! On a wider note however, as time went on, less & less items were private purchase for officers; to the extent that with the recent introduction of Future Army Dress (still sometimes referred to by its acronym 'FAD' … seems to take longer & longer to decide what to call something 'Future' once its 'in'
) I think it is only Mess Dress, No1 uniform (unless on public duties) & headdress that have to be purchased (in a few other cases eg No2 Dress brown shoes, there is/was an 'initial issue' & it is only future replacements that have to be purchased).
For example, by the nineties, all officers were issued later 'fawn' versions, of the shirt discussed above. Officers in REME (my capbadge) wore those with their purchased "Service Dress" jacket, trousers & headdress. Other Regiments (Royal Artillery springs to mind), continuing tradition, wore privately purchased 'cream' shirts.
The latter is probably still the case, 'post FAD', as shirts aren't too big an expenditure to maintain traditions ... not sure about your last point though
I flippantly wonder if the military tailors 'caused' the above policy changes because [Sarcasm] quite remarkedly [/Sarcasm] the total cost of all the items new officers had to purchase would come to exactly the money they received (the 'allowance' is actually a one-off Grant, on commissioning, then tax relief each year after), with a blazer thrown in if you were very lucky!
Oh, & Lightweight trousers were re-issued in the early 2000's for Barrack Dress; replacing the hated 'plastic trousers'. It may not have been 'universal' but I was reissued several pairs around that time, whilst at Staff College, & think they were phased out again, by FAD, when I was in Bristol (Defence Equipment & Support, Abbeywood) in the mid- to late- 2010's.
Newer production ones (common sizes) came without the original 'map pocket' (that may even have started before 90's withdrawal?) but as something of an 'old sweat' I was able to dig out my original ones. I'd learnt not to create the old 'two tone effect' while ironing though!
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