British and Commonwealth uniforms and equipment North Africa and the Mediterranean

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I thought I’d start a new thread along the lines of WW2 1945 British Jungle Greens showing a few bits that I have from the North African and Mediterranean theatre of war.

Hopefully I’ll add to it as I have done with the other thread. The items shown should be pre-1943 unless noted otherwise. For example the boots are dated 1945, I need to try and get an early war pair, the earliest I have are 1943 but size 8 and too much hassle to put on this mannequin. Also I have early war webbing but it is packed away and was not to hand when I played dress up today.

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I picked up two South African manufactured helmets recently, one dated 1942 and the other 1943. They have storage marks from being stacked, but otherwise are in very good condition.

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An Aertex shirt. Unfortunately the date isn’t visible, however, the markers stamp and size can be seen. These were often worn to destruction so aren’t that common anymore.

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Indian manufactured shorts, dated 1940 with 1939 dated buttons

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It is often forgotten that the nights in the desert were very cold, hence, soldiers did have a lot of cold weather gear.
The jumper shown here is of Australian manufacture and dated 1943. I also have a British one which is a slightly different shade. Unfortunately I could not get it on this mannequin (and I forgot to photograph it)

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Trousers Windproof Drab dated 1942. There is a smock that goes with these, however, I have yet to come across one that I can afford. I live in hope.

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WW2 period Shemagh or keffiyeh (it was bought with a small group of other wartime dated items). I need to find a suitable agal.

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Goggles - British MT dust goggles with clear and yellow lenses and a pair of liberated German dust goggles

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RAF (or Air Ministry) sunglasses. Obviously for issue to Airmen, however, some clearly found their way into the hands of soldiers as seen in this famous photo of Paddy Mayne.

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1943 dated, Indian manufactured MT (Motor Transport) lightweight overalls. Sometimes, incorrectly, referred to as summer or lightweight tank suit.
These were worn in North Africa and Italy as well as the Far East. They were worn by crews of Armoured Fighting Vehicles as well as general maintenance duty.
These overalls appear to be unissued and are a good size.

I have shown him with his Enfield .38 No2 Mk1* in his pocket (I need to get the correct holster, but they’re a small fortune) and a Sten Mk3 for protection when dismounted from his AFV.