Tom Neal
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Life after DeathHello to all of our many readers and non contributors.
Many moons ago we had a very thriving Forum. What has happened to us.
Apart from the odd tiff between Paul and Mick, which was was reconciled we now see very little activity at all.
The History is going very well and thanks to Paul and of course all the contibutors for that but how about some of the general chit chat that we used to have.
Just to kick off another subject and I know I am excluding a lot of the younger members what do you think of the BDs (Battle Dress) we had to wear. The BD was very loose fitting which made it ideal to fight in but what did we do? We got it tailored to make it skin tight and put in Box Pleats etc. In a BD you could tell who took a pride in their uniform unlike No 2 Dress which made most people look smart without any effort.
If you do not like this subject pick another one and see if we can kick off again.
Best wishes to all.
Tom
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ken vipond
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Hi Tom,B.D.s what a subject to pick,this is just my opinion and only consists of two words and one of them is awfull,i don,t think it was much improvement from the first world war and certainly not a item that could be washed by a field soldier and made presentable to wear,for without creases in the correct places it looked like a bag of sh------ tied in the middle,what you see the armed forces wearing now is a vast improvement to what we had and that also includes our fatigues or denims as they called them,best regards from Ken 
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paul croxson
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Worse than the BD was the FSMO and all of those bits of webbing. I recall being told that a woman had designed it. I can't imagine it being suitable for women anyway.
Ken is so right. Did anyone actually fit their 1950's denims? Mine had about a 50" waist and in those days I was a mere 32". They could only haved fitted a cookhouse sergeant.
I have ranted about pimply boots which have bitten the dust to boredom before.
Wel done Tom for trying to get us back on the road. I rate the forum highly
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ken vipond
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what about them things called gaiters,you could,nt sit down without the the bottoms of your trouser legs coming adrift from the gaiters,so imagine what they were like jumping in and out of trenches,probably useless  bring back the putties,best regards from Ken.
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paul croxson
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Ken, did you have bicycle chain or lead weights to make you look really smart?
We were told by some lying swine of an NCO (yes, there was such a thing) that the 'Americans preferred our uniforms'. Dream on! At least the Brylcreem boys did better than us and ... before we feel too sorry for urselves we could have had bell bottoms
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Tom Neal
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Hi Paul and others.
I used to wesr weights at Loughborough as did most of the Sgts and Cpls and was put on a charge for doing so by WO1 Bill Barnard. I Corps.
The only charge I had in 22 years (The rest of the time I was lucky)
Tom
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ken vipond
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Hi Paul,if i remember correctly we used chains and elastic bands,we had no ammunition so i suppose that equipement would have come in handy when the balloon went up,ken.
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paul croxson
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Although in basic training with another Corps we had bull by the bucket load we hoped for better at I Coprps depot. Dream on. We had an Irish Guard RSM who hated anything I Corps and it was a joy to watch him drill the 2/Lts.
We did try but it seems there was something missing in our genes (as you Old Signals Boys saw) when it came to 'Bull' for the NS men.
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ken vipond
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Hi again Paul,re your remark about the brylcream boy,s having it better than us,whilst i was at Royal Air Force Gatow they also wore a air force blue battle dress type uniform but always with black shoes no boots,and i can,t remember them having a belt of any description around the waist and certainly not a lot of creases,but they always looked smartish,just another bit of useless info but it keeps the thread going,regards from ken.
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paul croxson
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With our arctic sweaters, webing belt and denims set off by the Canadian lumber boots we thought we looked pretty good. My beret was so weird a shape that I was accused frequently of being 'a GD Man' That was in the days when they were navy blue, by the way
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GerryK
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Battle DressTried all the dodges at one time or other, weights, elastics etc, but found the best answer was to have your trousers too long (not difficult in my case) then they didnt pull out of the gaiters at every move.
When I left Langeleben early 63 for Cyprus all BDs were handed in at the depot. On arrival at 9 Sigs the first thing Iwas told, go to QMs and draw BD. Of course they hadnt got one to fit. Off to the tailors shop and measured for BESPOKE Battle Dress. It fitted like a glove. It would have your approval Tom. Dont remember wearing it much though!!
Of course on posting to 225 had to be handed back, dont know who else could possibly wear it. First thing I was told at Scharfoldendorf, you need some BD trousers. You can imagine my reaction!!!
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paul croxson
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Gerry,
Tell me. If they took away your BD in Germany what on earth did you travel in to Cyprus? Did they let you wear civvies?
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GerryK
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Civvies or BDThe answer is yes we did travel in civvies, but we also had number 2 dress.
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David Thomas
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Hi All, Strange to say but BD’s really passed me by. The reason is that for all my boy service (June 60 to Dec 62) our ‘best’ uniform was SD’s the residue of WW1, in our last term before entering adult service we were issued BD’s. However the Queen came to see us one afternoon, so as a special treat they gave us all No2 Dress, we were one of the first units to receive them. I wore BD’s at Loughborough Jan to Aug 63, but I think by the time I got to 13 Sigs in September they were virtually consigned to the bin. However in the brief time we did have BD’s we managed to significantly mutilate them. I seem to remember shaving the arms and legs inside and out, I think we tried sewing the creases in, and of course ensuring the creases were boxed. The weights were lead fishing weights on nylon line. At first we used elastic bands to hold the bottoms in, but someone, I know not who started a market in custom made elastics which had ‘s’ shaped hooks on each end. The weights and elastics were still being used to give some shape to denims years after the BD’s went to great QM’s in the sky. All the best. Dave T.
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Mike Hudson
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Life after DeathWhen I started at Catterick in 63 I was given a set of BD's as they had now't in my size. 6' tall, 36" waist, 31" leg. Perhaps they were expecting an invasion of Smerfs or some thing. Halfway through basic training I was given an updated set of Uniform. Perhaps because all the images of Squaddies in the 60's saw them in BD, I felt uneasy in No 2's but never had any problem in 'adapting' them to fit.
The only problem I did have was when I was told to blacken my gaiters, which I did, only to be told subsequently to revert to blancoed. Not an easy task with just one pair but I think it was Shorep that sorted me out, as much as I can ever be.
Incidentally, my BD I kept until I left in 1971 and they ended up as part of the wardrobe of one of my local Amateur Theatre Groups, no, not worn by me.
Pharticus Incontinentus, the Dribbler 
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marleneandgypo
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Re: Life after DeathOi watch what you say about us Smurfs in training.
Here is me with my little cousin Elisabeth from Paderborn. I'm not really a hunchback, I was carrying a back pack!!
Marlene
| Mike Hudson wrote: | When I started at Catterick in 63 I was given a set of BD's as they had now't in my size. 6' tall, 36" waist, 31" leg. Perhaps they were expecting an invasion of Smerfs or some thing.
Pharticus Incontinentus, the Dribbler |
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