Help Please! Canadian made ATS battledress Jacket

[douglas2496]

Hi everyone,

A few things strike me as odd about this BD jacket. It has women officers ATS badges (London command), but the white label dosnt mention women's services or have women's sizing. The jacket appears unissued and is in perfect condition. Also, is it unusual to see a full lining in a jacket like this? I have a conventional enlisted mans jacket also Canadian and of the same date, and it is unlined and of inferior quality material to this jacket. To summarise I would like to know;

Is this a genuine jacket?
Are the patches genuine?
Is it actually a small size mans jacket?
Is it usual for women officers BD to have a lining?
Were Canadian made BDs issued to British service personnel?

Thanks for your help.

Douglas

[António Fragoeiro]

Hi, not familiar with these, however i believe Ade`s wife can help you.
She`s the expert with ATS uniforms.
Cheers.
Nuno

[Jerry B]

It is badged for 56th London Division not London Command. The ATS also had male members, not just ladies, I think. During the period matching the date of the BD, the 56th were in italy, but it could have been issued later, as many were and sat in stores for a long time. A poster on another forum mentioned to me that he was issued a NOS war time dated BD when he joined the RA (TA) in 1959.

Foreign made BD's can have so many variations when compared to UK made examples that it is hard to comment on the variations between this and Uk examples or even more usual Canadian made examples.

Tailored examples with full linings were made and this might be one of them. How does the collar close and has it also been tailored to an open collar type?

I have a february 1945 Canadian made BD in my collection and it was issued to the RAMC London District.

I think it is probably all original and has been tailored for an officer, though I'm not sure why it has ATS shoulder titles and London Division formation patches, though I assume the owner was attached to the 56th Division, though when this happened I could not say, as it might have been a few years after the BD was made. The division was converted to an armoured division in 1946.

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[douglas2496]

Thanks Jerry, that's very helpful. The collar is tailored open and does not close. Douglas

[Jerry B]

Thanks Jerry, that's very helpful. The collar is tailored open and does not close. Douglas

Hi Douglas,

That's what I thought, as my Canadian made example closes at the neck with a button and tab of fabric and has pale coloured cotton/linen type fabric lining the neck. As I hope I made clear, it is hard to say when the insignia was applied and what the combination means. It is likely as a foreign made example that it would not say ATS on the label and might not have the female size measurements that you would expect to see on a British made example made specially for the ATS.

[Battery Command Post]

I can clear this up. That is a 1950-60s Royal Canadian Army Cadets Pattern Battledress Blouse with a fake label and applied ATS insignia.

Rob

[douglas2496]

Dear Rob,

Thanks for that, I have found some matching examples on the internet and you are correct of course- its a disapointment but that's the sort of answer I was really expecting.

Doug

[Jerry B]

Sorry if I had got your hopes up with this, but I did try to say that it was not as described and I can only apologise for my lack of knowledge on 1950'-60's Canadian cadet BD's and their finer points. I should have spotted the lapels were of the 47 pattern, but I could not see a button hole there and I just assumed it was the result of any tailoring. As I posted, the insignia combination was a concern to me as it did not make sense.

[douglas2496]

Thats no problem Jerry, I am grateful for your help. Douglas

[Battery Command Post]

Oh well, c'est la vie, as they say in places like Quebec The next one will be the rare original you will get for a song

RCAC Blouses are very nice in their own right, usually very colourful with their full insignia. I have a few properly badged ones, which i collected due to my wife having been such a keen cadet in her youth. Shame they are now being used to deceive

Rob