Looking for Year of uniform please

Just realised I have made quite the mistake

The jacket is, after talking with my mum , the seamstress, for a short dumpy woman and would basically be a tent on me. I really should of paid more attention in textiles class when I was a school kid. The trousers and cap are ideal, but even my mum say's this is a very mis matched uniform.

Just looked at ebay's rules and I don't fall under the retraction grounds

I have no idea where to find a man's 32" - 34" tunic in time, and I don't think it looks very proper to not wear the jacket.. not only that I would need the correct epaulette's.

This is turning into disaster... well kind of. At least the Cap and Trousers will fit.

Any ideas ??

 

did you see this one - maybe you don't want to spend same again?

RAF OFFICERS UNIFORM on eBay (end time 19-Oct-10 21:01:17 BST)

I'll keep looking and get back to you soonest

 

Thank you, I did notice that one but it's 8-10 days delivery and I messaged them and they wont pu it for any other type of delivery

I know I can re-alter (Mum can re-alter) the Jacket back so the buttons are correct and re-sell the jacket. So for now the cap and trousers are fine.

I cant find any pictures of warrant officers with no No. 1 Tunic on though to see the epaulettes, do you know per-chance which they were... and could I get away with not wearing the jacket if it came to it?

I seriously ow you some thanks.. or a pint lol

*EDIT* Just been messaged this about the buttons "With regards to the way it is made when you are wearing the jacket the buttons are on right side - buttonholes are on left side. There is an inside pocket on the same side as the buttons and a small slip pocket between the breast pocket and the large pocket at the bottom on the same side as the buttons on the outside of the jacket."

 

I think the seller may think I'm a girl O.O

 

If you have an appropriate shirt and tie you could get away without the jacket - although warrant officers don't usually go in for that kind of informality

Epaulette wise they should be plain for a warrant officer, couldn't confirm but I think they would wear a wrist strap rank badge similar to the army although you often see RAF personnel with sleeves full length - but I think that's officers.

all the pics i see show no epaulettes at all for the jackets.

these guys have some jackets;

https://www.elliottmilitary.co.uk/catalog/index.php?cPath=45&osCsid=de1578cc7eeeff3cd8c0ad578689de7c

or possibly for hire (although certainly repros, they don't look too bad from the photos);

1940's/50's Mens Military - Costumes to hire on line by THW

That's the best I can come up with except maybe the idea of getting a greatcoat, but they're a bit pricey and harder to find.

as far as your message goes, it sounds like rubbish - here's a couple more pics to compare (you probably already saw);

 

unless we're both missing that your original photo isn't actually buttoned, and just has the button front lying loose over the buttonhole front ?

I think that's it - hopefully your Mum can do something with it to get it to fit

 

Seriously many thanks for your time,

I can see straight through the seller on that one, unless they honestly think I'm a girl.
Looks like I may have to go Jacket-less I really don't like the informality it has though, plus I think it would be a bit disrespectful to past and present RAF personnel.

I have had a look at the hire place before and that's more money than I can afford, plus I'm looking for something permanent.

Will keep on looking, although I do like the look of the £40 Jacket, but again that's quite pricey what with my budget being eaten by my current bid... I'm wishing I had read the info more precisely now.

I too was under the impression that a WO didn't wear epaulettes.

Enclosed is the current RAF issue WO No. 1 Dress as found in the RAF dress-code booklet. I was thinking of going for the No 2 jumper but I then can't wear the trousers... grrr

Thank you once again though.

 

OMGOSH!!!! I so didn't see that !!!!

Either way it is twice the size lol

 

Let us know how it turns out - maybe you can make something out of the spare material and sell it on e-bay (lol). But seriously you might be able to persuade your mum to knock up a side cap out of it if you're lucky or a spare couple of belts

and remember wartime uniforms never fit very well (although WOs probably made a point of it)

 

I certainly shall do

Here's what's happened so far...

I knew now that the jacket was going to bury me so needed another jacket... I found one, and the guy threw in a tie!! It's 60's pattern again, but add that extra button and all's good... hopefully

Found the shirt and braces from the same place and have now got combined postage.

So after all this is finished, and hopefully it all arrives by thursday, I will be spending the morning unpicking Sgt. stripes off the fitting jacket and attaching the WO emblems to it, Just got to hope I can make the belt from the huge jacket fit me as the fitting jacket doesn't have one

All in all, quite the adventure.. Ooo and i'll have a large man's jacket for sale afterwards so at least I can make some money back

 

sounds great

you can always just take a fold in the belt at the side with a safety pin - we used to do that because we were too lazy to do it properly but it worked fine.

just one word of caution perhaps - the marks left by the sergeant's stripes will likely be very visible, so you might want to think about just staying a sergeant - unpick a small corner and have a look in daylight to see how pronounced the fade is

Enjoy

 

Ooo, I didn't think about that...

Ummm.. but sergeant's didn't wear the cap.. right, that was WO and above, or have I got myself a tad mixed up lol

Thanks for the belt tip, and I certainly shall

 

certainly most of the pics of sergeants aren't wearing the hat, only the side cap. but...;

found this pic below of a sergeant in 1942 in a hat - different cap badge though which makes sense;

also another about half way down this link;

http://www.rafpa.com/help1.htm

 

Yes I noticed the cap badge also. Thank you for looking for me. I could only find side caps. Hopefully if the Sgt. stripes have left a mark I can brush them out.. or possibly a dry clean may get them out??

I just wish I wasn't growing my hair long for a play I'm doing, will have to keep the cap on all night. Least I get the chance to try out the 1940's style moustache always been a full beard man, feels soooo strange at the moment without one

 

Just had a lengthy chat with my mother about my grandfather, and we will be asking for his service records asap. He was definitely, by the time he left, a WO in the RAF. He was a flyer, not sure if he was a pilot or not, but he went from here to Iceland, then the Canada and then drove the planes from the US up back into Canada, fly them back to Iceland, refuel and back here again.

From what I gather that was the only way before the Americans joined in, that they could do things so that the Americans didn't appear to be helping.

I really can't wait to see his service record

 

All depends on the amount of fading - hard to tell before you get it - i think the '60s uniforms would have had a fair bit of synthetic in them so it might not be bad at all.

P.S. everyone outside the RAF always thinks of them as scruffy long-haired oiks anyway - just pretend you're covering up 'spitfire burns'.

you definitely have to have the stache. It was uniform issue.

you might be interested in;

http://www.ww2wings.com/wings/britainraf/britainrafairtransport.shtml
shows the right badges etc.

http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=23248
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Ferry_Command
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1252484/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1029297/

And one to bookmark for when you get his records;

http://www.rafweb.org/Menu Quick.htm

 

Thank you there is certainly enough information there to keep me going for a while.

I'm curious as to if you know anything about the legalities of wearing a uniform in public, whilst being a civilian?

I can find that wearing medals that your not entitled to is illegal, and in the USA it's illegal to wear the uniform (USA uniform) full stop.

I know you can't wear a police uniform as fancy dress if it looks too good, but then you also see films, or photos of stag/hen parties where the "stripper" looks convincingly police like.

Main reason I ask is that I don't drive and have to get a bus to the social.

Also are there things you can't do in No. 1 dress, like drinking or smoking etc?

*EDIT* Just found out you can smoke in uniform but only if standing, not whilst walking. I quite like that little rule

I have searched on google but the information just doesn't seam to be coming up, either that or my search terms aren't correct.

 

I don't know the exact legal details but if i remember correctly the issue in the uk is not wearing the uniform, it's wearing the uniform in order to deceive, so i think you'll be fine.

When i was in the issue with smoking was you didn't as you say do it walking. Drinking was pretty much the same - and with good reason - drinking while walking is harder than drinking while driving.

wartime smoking rules were a lot less strict or at least a lot less enforced.

they have a lot of the law details on this site;

http://hmvf.co.uk/forumvb/showthread.php?8110-Wearing-of-uniforms-and-rank-insignia

 

I decided the best thing I could do was to contact my local police station, who were completely baffled as to the legalities. Until I got the chance to get "The OK" from the chief inspector!!!

His words were "As long as there's no medals and you don't bring the British forces into disrepute, as long as it's for a social gathering and you don't state your actually in the RAF then I'm ok with that."

As for the drinking and smoking, wartime was indeed a lot less strict. Shall make sure I am stood lol.

As for the drinking, walking, driving comment... LOL!!!

So least I know and now you know

Must admit you have been a serious help for myself, I very much appreciate it. Thank you.

 

you're welcome