WW2 Officer's Service Dress uniform, NZ Army

[Anderson]

A New Zealand Army officer's Service Dress uniform, private purchase, made by Preston & Maurice, Auckland (Est 1897 and still in business).
This is the Type 3 Service Dress jacket, which originated in 1923 and continued to be made until the late 1930's, perhaps longer. A Type 4 jacket was introduced in the late 1930's.
The Type 3 was worn with the Sam Browne belt until 1941 when it became optional and a fabric belt was introduced. This example came with the fabric belt so may have been made after 1941. It has the Captain rank pips, NZ Onward collar badges and New Zealand titles made from cotton drill which indicates the uniform may have been owned by an officer serving in the NZ 3rd Division in the Pacific war, 1943/44.

[AndyM35]

A great addition to your collection A! Really nice patina overall but especially on the pips. A super example as exemplified by your photographs.

Andy

[Anderson]

As Rene would say; I've got a crap camera, but I do my best.

[PDavies]

I have seen a similar uniform recently by this maker Preston & Maurice. The label had the Queens crown on it?

[Anderson]

It's a stylized brand mark, not a "by appointment to HM" and remember they began business when Queen Victoria was still on the throne.

[Anderson]

Always worth checking the pockets with uniforms. I recently decided to have the jacket drycleaned as it had decades of accumulated dust and dirt. I decided to check the breast pockets before sendig to the drycleaner. I found a New Zealand Railways , Bus /Rail concession ticket for Lower Hutt to Wellington which had been used up. Most interestingly was the ticket expiry date stamped on appears to be "20 DEC 1943". Which fit's in well with what I expected it's age, to be early 1940's.