Hi I wondered if anyone can help me. Last year I bought a WWII officers uniform from a military fair. It was on the last few hours of the day when I noticed the uniform for sale. I checked it out, it was a perfect fit and had 'J R Carry, no 1378, oflag VII B, a present from mother' hand written in the inside of the trousers, also a Burberrys tag on the inside of the jacket. The seller was an old lady who said it had been in a loft for years and the cuft of the arm was slightly moff eaten. I bought it as she only wanted £5 for it. Since then it has been hanging in my wardrobe. In the summer I plan to go to 40's war time evening and would like to wear my uniform. The problem is I can't find anywere to repair the moff eaten cuff, so if anyone knows were I can get it repaired. Also it has no decoratives. I wondered if any knows what and were I can get them from. The buttons say 'Royal army ordnance corps'. I already have a sam brown(not to sure if they wore them in the evening), also some shoulder pips. The left arm has a slight tare (looks like something was there that had been ripped off). If anyone can help it would be appreciated. Cheers Mark
Afraid I can't help with the repairs (apart from to say "get the darning needle out!!" :P ), but you may be interested to know that OFLAG VII B was the Officer's POW camp at Eichstatt in the region of Munich, Bavaria.It was operational from October 1939 through to 1945. B. (PS. Yes, the Sam Browne was worn with the service dress)
Thanks bayernwald, its interesting to think the uniform may of been worn in a POW. Do you know what and where I can get a cap and badges to suit by uniform and what kind of shoes to where.
Originally posted by noe@Feb 29 2004, 03:43 AM Thanks bayernwald, its interesting to think the uniform may of been worn in a POW. Do you know what and where I can get a cap and badges to suit by uniform and what kind of shoes to where. I take it you have the service dress "trousers" (as opposed to breeches). If this is the case, a pair of plain, leather soled, brown lace-up shoes will suffice. The cap you are looking for is either a peaked "SD Cap" or a khaki "FS Cap" (side cap, or forage cap) in officers quality. Alternatively, you could also wear the coloured variety of the "FS Cap" which only went out of existance after the RAOC was amalgamated a few years ago. In the case of the RAOC, this was all dark blue, with red piping on the crown and yellow piping on the curtain. Officers cap-badges were usually bronzed. I can't tell you where you may find these items, but you'll probably find it easiest to find the SD cap as the pattern hasn't changed all that much over the years(or, possibly a more modern issue coloured FS Cap). B.
