A Beginner's Guide to British Far East Kit and Clothing, 1944-1945 - Part I

[@AnOldYoungPerson]

Interestingly, Rob from BritishMuzzleLoaders has done a little section about the kit of the British Army in the Far East, in his "Kit series" he mentions the places where he got his Jungle Green battledress. (Mainly WPG and SOF), but as far as I'm aware you and Rob are the only people who have talked about Far East WW2 kit on KZbin. (Granted he talks about it from a Histotical Shooting context rather than a living history/reenactment perspective).

[@zhukie]

Thank you so much for this Simon, the 'Forgotten Army' theatre as it is indeed. My Dad served in Burma with the Seaforths and there is little information out there comparatively speaking. He developed Alzheimers before I was old enough to really ask him about his war years (apart from the typically amusing stories he told me as a child) and anything I can find out is very welcome. Still have his Regimental jacket and Sam Browne and his Sgian Dubh...alas bastard burglars broke in to our house when I was about 10 and stole his issued kukri (fortunately they didn't find his medals!)

[@garethpowell1520]

Really helpful, thank you!

[@stephen8577]

Brilliant video, so pleased your covering the far east , my Grandfather served in Burma and he would have loved this. Never forget the Forgotten Army 👍

[@ncrranger34]

Hello! I’am curious if you have a link to the seller of that hat? Or know the seller? I’m curious.

[@RiflemanMoore]

The civilian hat is one I found on eBay, it's vintage, just an example of what you can find for sale by way of a usable stand in.

[@ncrranger34]

Thank you for the response. I have been going through the trouble of trying to find a slouch hat of that type as of recently. I could try digging through the internet for the exact brand to see if I could find the hat in question. But would you recommend any modern civilian hats personally? Such as Akubra? Ps I love your videos please keep producing the interesting content that you do.

[@jonprince3237]

Great video, Simon, for a much needed series. Having gone through the process myself, I agree completely that working out what was worn is by far the easy part of recreating a late Burma/14th Army impression. Finding good reproductions or originals in wearable sizes is a nightmare, so I have a lot of reenactor respect for anyone fielding a good late Burma kit, I know how much work goes into it. The company Replicators in India did make some very good JG trousers and OK blouses and Bush shirts some years ago which occasionally pop up second hand. The trousers especially started to look very authentic once well worn, which is also worth keeping in mind for anyone looking for original examples, as old copies are out there, so buyer beware, particularly if people haven't seen or handled original examples. I have an unused 1945 dated pair of JG trousers which does have belt loops and appear to be factory done, so I think it might be something they added eventually, at least by one manufacturer. Though they don't show up in wartime images so presumably weren't used on earlier production and are fully sewn top and bottom, rather than part button closure like the British jungle trousers. I'm looking forward to the rest of the series, I've seen a fair few "not so good" late Burma impressions over the years, so hopefully anyone thinking of recreating it will take note of your videos first and start out on the right track. Keep up the good work, mate.

[@martynbalmont2896]

Thank you for putting together this series. Far East kit is something that I have been starting to look into as a reenactment option that’s a) something a bit different and b) perhaps more suited to the inclement summers we seem to get now. I find it difficult at times to judge reproduction pieces, particularly when so much original photography is in black and white. Your videos have been and continue to be a valuable source of advice and reference to improve my representations (after some fairly horrific early attempts 🙈), so thank you!

[@behindthespotlight7983]

When people hear “wool” that default to a scratchy USN “pea coat” type fabric. Folks nowadays do not understand wool blends. Maybe some women do.

[@brenwoodard1832]

What Price Glory makes a version of the Indian army shirt in a light grey wool flannel, is this just a different color version of the same shirt, or does it correspond more with the tan uniforms?

[@jonprince3237]

It's earlier manufacture, essentially the Indian version of the 'greyback' shirt, they can be seen worn extensively during the interwar period by British Empire troops on the n.w. frontier.

[@philallsopp42]

I’ve often wondered about how well the Angola material dealt with the extreme heat and humidity.

[@starsys1469]

hello is it possible to make a video on the essential elements to reconstitute a ww2 english dummy? thank you

[@crispianbarlow5184]

Have you tried in India? The Indian Forest Service wears the same shirts. The rangers get issued the material & a "stitching" allowance, to get a tailor to sew them their size.

[@RiflemanMoore]

Interesting! That would be a possibility if the supplier could be identified.

[@crispianbarlow5184]

@@RiflemanMoore I am meeting some of my Indian colleagues from IFS in Cambodia at the end of the month. I will sound them out.

[@nathansaunders2576]

India shirts had what I believe to be stamped zinc buttons too.

[@RiflemanMoore]

They did indeed, but that's not an easy option to accurately replicate if you're looking to put together some form of reproduction of the shirt.

[@aemeromedia]

engaging info! 💪

[@jasemac5391]

Is Spearheaded not around anymore

[@danielpalama3700]

no one seems to know what happened to spearhead. The website is still up but no one answers emails and their Ebay page is gone,. So they probably closed up shop. Top Pots has many of their same items but they are almost double what they were sold for on Spearhead, and it's definitely not worth spending almost 150+ on a hat that is farby material.

[@ryanvargus9456]

Why do these hats only snap up on one side?

[@RiflemanMoore]

To allow for rifle drill, carrying the rifle at the slope.

[@WWIIUK]

Really useful video I thoroughly enjoyed watching, its certainly a shame none of the major reproduction companies make good copies of British tropical uniform articles. The latest WPG Jungle Green battledress blouse is too long and ends blow the waist line which is a shame, the buttons are also made from plastic. With regards to Chindit specific footwear Brigadier Bernard Fergusson, commander of 16 Brigade of the Chindits during Operation Thursday, noted that India produced GS boots which sore initial issue whilst the Brigade was in India. During Jungle warfare training it was found that these boots fell to pieces rather quickly, so boots produced in the Union of South Africa were 'acquired' for use in the field. It sounds like boots where an item regularly replaced in the field.

[@jonprince3237]

I was lucky enough to speak to a Burma veteran many years ago, he mentioned boots would last about 6-8 weeks of use, uniforms about the same as, if nothing else, the stitching would rot and things would fall apart.

[@WWIIUK]

@@jonprince3237 Indeed, items of clothing where quite often free dropped from aircraft along with things like hay for the mules and tins.

[@camoflage3994]

Frist