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28th July 18, 03:59 AM
#1
I think WowBagger has hit it on the head, I too think it's an RAF battledress blouse.
Somebody might have cut up a pair of matching battledress trousers to get the fabric to make the somewhat crude cuffs.
Battledress in RAF blue was issued beginning in 1942 and in Royal Navy blue beginning in 1943.
The battledress blouse in the Ebay auction is the 1949 pattern, which has lapels more or less like ordinary suit jackets.
The 1949 pattern was worn up until the end of battledress (1961).
So without any other information I might guess that this is a modified RAF 1949 pattern battledress blouse worn in an RAF pipe band.
Aha! I found a photo of a pipe band wearing these.
http://www.eyrewaves.co.uk/rspba/cho...ics/band1a.jpg
We should keep in mind that battledress was extremely influential and popular- during WWII the German army and US army adopted copies of it- and in the post-WWII era many civilian pipe bands adopted it too.
Last edited by OC Richard; 28th July 18 at 04:09 AM.
Proud Mountaineer from the Highlands of West Virginia; son of the Revolution and Civil War; first Europeans on the Guyandotte
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28th July 18, 04:46 AM
#2
 Originally Posted by OC Richard
My wife's two cousins were in this band when they were kids. One is a piper and one is a drummer. The one third from left is the drummer, John McIver, who now lives in Australia.
Last edited by Arnot; 28th July 18 at 10:10 AM.
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28th July 18, 05:17 AM
#3
Good find with that photo, Richard! That looks like it, with the only difference being the buttons on the gauntlet cuffs. So do we think this is a bona fide uniform jacket for a pipe band?
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28th July 18, 06:37 PM
#4
I suppose. If there was just one I would think that it was a one-off, somebody taking an existing ordinary Battle Dress blouse and modifying it.
But since entire pipe bands were wearing these, and since the sleeves appear to be ordinary jacket sleeves (straight, not bloused into a cuff-band like shirt sleeves) it appears that at least one firm was making and selling these as pipe band uniform jackets.
If you look back at photos of civilian pipe bands in the USA in the post-WWII era you'll see that many of them were wearing Battle Dress blouses or their American copies, Ike Jackets. It was a fad back then.
Here's the pipe band of The Black Watch in the 1950s wearing the 1949 pattern Battle Dress blouse. You can see how the sleeves are gathered/bloused into the button cuffs much like shirts are made.
Last edited by OC Richard; 28th July 18 at 06:42 PM.
Proud Mountaineer from the Highlands of West Virginia; son of the Revolution and Civil War; first Europeans on the Guyandotte
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28th July 18, 07:34 PM
#5
Hardly of much importance to the discussion but I recall members of the Australian Air Training Corps in the 1960s wearing a mix of battle dress jackets, some with this type of cuff although the majority had buttoned version.
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28th July 18, 07:41 PM
#6
Wow thanks for that!
So Battle Dress blouses were being produced with straight (jacket) sleeves with a number of cuff treatments. Interesting.
I suppose it's simply part of Battle Dress' steady evolution from a baggy dowdy comfortable practical combat dress to a sort of Service Dress tunic with suit-like lapels and, sometimes, straight suit-like sleeves.
Here are 1949 Battle Dress blouses worn as a smart uniform (with collared shirt and necktie) by Highland soldiers
Last edited by OC Richard; 28th July 18 at 07:49 PM.
Proud Mountaineer from the Highlands of West Virginia; son of the Revolution and Civil War; first Europeans on the Guyandotte
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28th July 18, 08:01 PM
#7
Here's the current Australian Army version with zippered front, elasticized waist and straight cuff
Last edited by Bruce Scott; 29th July 18 at 01:56 AM.
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30th July 18, 11:21 AM
#8
Here is an Ike Jacket that can be purchased today:

Here is the Jacket in question on EBAY:

Appears to be basically the same jacket with a few new buttons and cuff alterations done, with bottom button gone replaced with hook and eyes, looks like an modification of an Ike Jacket. These were very popular in New England Drum and Pipe bands during the 60's and 70's, they came in olive, grey, black, tan, and navy blue. Even the drum and bugle corps would wear them, for example the Drum and Bugle Core 27th Lancers wore tan Ike Jackets. FYI, the hooks you see on the bottom are used to clip onto the bottom of the drummer's support belt holding the drum, so jacket does not ride up over the belt when marching causing the jacket to interfering with drumming.
The IKE Jacket can be purchased in use for around $230.00 So the used jacket is cheaper.
Last edited by CollinMacD; 30th July 18 at 11:30 AM.
Allan Collin MacDonald III
Grandfather - Clan Donald, MacDonald (Clanranald) /MacBride, Antigonish, NS, 1791
Grandmother - Clan Chisholm of Strathglass, West River, Antigonish, 1803
Scottish Roots: Knoidart, Inverness, Scotland, then to Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada.
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