Show your mannequins!

[Victory Museum]

D-Day Veteran Navigator - 734th Bombardment Sqd, 453rd Bomb Group (H):

[Victory Museum]

Brazilian Air Force "ELO" - 1st Liaison & Observation Squadron (ELO) Pilot set:

Formed on July 20, 1944 in Italian Front, the ELO had Air Force pilots and Army Artillery observers in Piper L-4H Grasshopper planes.

[meyle77]

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[Watchdog]

[QUOTE=Tango;1780831]James cracking display.. only 1 slight issue the puttees are on wrong.. You need the tab or finishing bit on the outside of the ankle. That was the way the Army wore them. /QUOTE]

I commented on this in another thread when James showed this excellent display (very creative rendition of the SMG) which I cannot for the life of me find now and I promised to post regarding the puttees. It has taken a while (work and the detritus of life getting in the way of really important hobby stuff!!), anyway I finally managed to get round to it. However, if a MOD can copy and cross reference this into a more appropriate forum area that would be brilliant.

As Terry says, the pointed end of the puttee should be on the outside of the ankle pointing to the rear. It depends of the thickness of the ankle (skinny racing snake or lard arse old sweat!) where the winding starts but it will usually be either side of the Achilles Tendon area of the foot give or take an inch or so. The puttee is wound clockwise on the right ankle and anti-clockwise (counter-clockwise if you prefer) on the left to achieve the same end in a parallel not overlapping way so that the whole thing is only the width of the puttee cloth. The point should be about level with the ankle bone ie central. The tape is then wound in the same direction to finish at the point and the surplus is wound around the main part of the tape to form a kind of ferrule. Any loose end is tucked away behind the cloth of the point. The puttee should be tight enough to support the ankle but not so tight as to hinder circulation. It should be secure and comfortable.

This is a picture of what it should look like when put on fairly rapidly for everyday wear. If making the effort to "shine" for parades etc a soldier would be diligent in making sure the tape presented a single neat outline etc. I fitted this in moments for the first time in about 30 years!



It was originally intended that the puttees be wound over the bottom of the trouser leg but in reality nobody since the end of national service would have been seen dead dressed like that and elastics were always used (rubber bands, elastic tape stiched into a band or latterly propietry "trouser elastics" still used today, so buy them off Ebay and they are totally appropriate). A possible exception would be recruits in the first two weeks of training, they had to know the original official method and you didn't want them to feel too cocky!!

When issued or presented for inspection they would be seen rolled with the tape on the outside. This was to make visible that the tape was present and in good order, not damaged or cut short as some tended to do for a short cut. However, for real world use whenever you took them off (in the field or not) you had to be ready to put them back on quickly. So, whether a spare pair in the field (wet puttess will do you real harm I don't need to explain) or ready in a drawer in barracks they would be rolled with the tape inside neatly and in the right way to be quickly donned;



If done correctly the puttees would do a good job and stay put until you took them off. We all saw individuals hobbling along on a tab with one or both trailing behind him like a banner but he was always the "odd one out". I don't recall ever having one come loose let alone undone!

They were great and could look really smart too.

I hope this is of interest and some use.

Regards

Mark

[Chopperman]

Brazilian Air Force "ELO" - 1st Liaison & Observation Squadron (ELO) Pilot set:

Formed on July 20, 1944 in Italian Front, the ELO had Air Force pilots and Army Artillery observers in Piper L-4H Grasshopper planes.

Very nice display.
I had a very good friend who flew L4s for Patton in ww2.
I'm sure he would have found your post very interesting.

[Jerry B]

Much to the shock and horror of my wife, I made a little stand for him to make him stand a bit taller and also to allow some trousers to be added.

[Dabi26]

Hi Jerry
Beautiful uniform and display. Cool! Super! In order not to scare your wife and show you the full pants (and even shoes) of this worthy officer and gentleman, you should equip your mannequin with something like this:




regards

Dabi

[Jerry B]

Today he has joined the parachute regiment, he is wearing an original service dress tunic of an officer with WWII service and who is both para and army pilot qualified and continued in service well into the post war period.

[Daniel Bellew]

Thought i would post a few of my guys.

[Sarge]

I've got some of them maniquinz, and just the coat forms, even got the uniforms to cover them. I've also got some others, but don't find the photos.
Here are a few of what I can find photos of:
I also have the pants for the Lw dinner jacket u. W-SS dot