Commonwealth Battledress Trousers

[douglas2496]

Hi everyone, bought these trousers fairly cheaply today. They appear to be of the wartime type and of British Commonwealth manufacture (they are the greenish shade rather than the British brown, despite how they appear in the pictures.) They are totally unmarked, but it looks as though there may have been a cloth label now missing. I have some Canadian BD and although they are almost the same colour, they dont strike me as Canadian (no ink stamps and different buttons). So are they Australian, or New Zealand perhaps? The wool is softer than my other wartime BD's. Any help appreciated, Doug

[Jerry B]

I would say Aussie, the early ones would have brownish cloth lining with sewn in labels and as these definitely early as they have ankle adjuster buttons they appear to fit that pattern. NZ examples are usually Inkstamp marked in my experience.

[douglas2496]

Thanks Jerry, thats the conclusion I was coming to as well.

[ynot]

I would say Aussie, the early ones would have brownish cloth lining with sewn in labels and as these definitely early as they have ankle adjuster buttons they appear to fit that pattern. NZ examples are usually Inkstamp marked in my experience.

Doug, Jerry, wouldn't they be a little uncomfortable to wear with the adjuster buttons? Did the button sit over the boot or against the skin/socks? When did they stop using the ankle adjuster buttons?

Tony

[Adrian Stevenson]

Hi Tony, having worn many a pair of original BD trousers for re-enactment, I can tell you that the button and tab cannot be felt through your socks.

I do not know the exact date when they dropped this feature.

BD trousers, after being pressed, are actually quite comfy to wear. The baggy cut make them easy to move in and allows plenty of air space between the leg and the cloth. Worst thing is wearing braces (suspenders) means you have to take off the BD blouse when going to the loo.

Cheers, Ade.

[ynot]

Comfortable to wear Ade? Well, that's a word I didn't think I'd hear in the same sentence as battledress but then I've not had any experience with it, yet.

Tony

[douglas2496]

I agree with Adrian, it is surprisingly comfortable to wear, though the button fly front and braces are pain as Adrian says. By the way here is me in full kit, and again with Adrian (in Soviet uniform) showing me how to use a Soviet Anti Tank Rifle. Doug

[ynot]

Great pics Doug.

Tony

[Jerry B]

The only BD blouse I own which fits me is a Denim example, so very comfortable. The trousers are always an odd size from when the waist measurement was actually up near your navel, so if you want a pair to wear they have to be at least one waist size larger than you would expect based on your normal jeans for instance.

Great to see the pics Doug, you and Ade really look the part.

[Steelhead10]

Comfortable to wear Ade? Well, that's a word I didn't think I'd hear in the same sentence as battledress but then I've not had any experience with it, yet.

Tony

My Dutch 1960 battledress is very unconfortable to wear as the sleeves are not lined and it is made out of very coarse wool. Doug very nice pictures there

Matt