Authentic Canadian Battledress?

Hi how is everyone doing?

im pretty new to researching the different types of battledress variants and such, i was wondering how you guys can tell if a battledress is authentic or post war because i have close to no clue. i found one battledress on ebay which is a p37, but is missing the inside pockets? is this normal?

It's a WW2 type but isn't WW2 Canadian made. The cotton lining colour is wrong and WW2 Canadian battledress have two interior breast pockets, one of which has the maker, date and size stamped on it.

ok thanks for the info!

would you happen to have a rough idea on to where this battledress came from?

Are there any markings stamped on it at all? The cut is identical to a later war Canadian blouse but if it were one it would be well marked in that condition. I suspect a well made repro or even something tailored up from some other county's uniform. There are private purchase ones but those would be of finer material and again well marked.

i do not believe there are any markings, i can only assume your correct about the repro tunic idea. Unfortunately i don't have anything to go by but these pictures myself.

Get this book...
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Uniforms-of-the-WWII-Tommy-/372105738551

Its a great resource for the beginner collector. I carried mine with me when I was on the hunt and pretty near wore it out.
Where are you from? See if you can meet some local collectors near you that will let you see authentic uniforms. Nothing like a hands on inspection to learn. If they are nice enough to show you some uniforms they will most likely share thier knowledge with you. I met some fellow collectors with many years of experience and was surprised at the near forensic level of examination they used to detemine authenticity. There is a ton to learn.

Awesome thanks for the suggestion! unfortunately i do not have access to a local ww2 collector community, but hope to change that soon! Im in the greater Vancouver area in BC. ill definatly invest into a guide book, maybe learn more about the uniforms of ww2 and start my own little collection.

Looks to me like a post war BD. I believe its Canadian from the 1950's-60's. It looks like it has been modified to look like a wartime version. If you look closely at the small tab on the collar that closes it. I'm sure there is new stitching there. Also look at the pocket closure flaps. They appear in the photo to have been modified. They seem to be have been straightened out to match the wartime version. There is a small wave to the edges. My guess, there is newer stitching there also. The post war version has an open collar .. it appears that the collar has been trimmed to close like the wartime version. It also has a small piece in the neck that you would put a coat hanger through. The wartime version never had this. The other giveaway for me is the fold down collar has very sharp corners. The wartime BD's are rounded more. Pockets were removed because this is where you'd find the markings. Whoever forged it needed pieces of the pocket to line the collar. If you bought it on ebay … return it and get your money back.

All the best,

Ypres

PS . Pick up the Osprey book on battledress. Its around $20 ….

https://ospreypublishing.com/british-battledress-1937-61-pb

cool thank you! i would have never known.. wow! so does that mean that all ww2 battledress uniforms have a inner collar lining?

Yes they do.

Ypres

ypres wrote:Yes they do.

Ypres

Weren't early production Canadian battledress collars unlined? I seem to remember that due to irritations in the neck, men were soon permitted to add their own lining and soon after that the manufacturers added the khaki drill material to line the collars.

The very early versions may have been, but after 1940 all were manufactured with the lined collar. I don't believe I have ever owned or seen a WWII Canadian BD that was dated earlier than 1940. From the collectors point of view, the BD's that are found would all have lined collars. I'm not saying the early ones aren't out "there", but 99.9% of the time a collector would find a piece with a lined collar.

Ypres

Canadian BD,

One other thing I noticed on your BD is the back. The WWII version was made of two pieces sewn together in the back. Your's looks like the seem in the middle of the back is a false seem created be sewing a line down the piece of fabric? Is this the case or are there two separate pieces sewn together? Check the inside.

ypres wrote:The very early versions may have been, but after 1940 all were manufactured with the lined collar. I don't believe I have ever owned or seen a WWII Canadian BD that was dated earlier than 1940. From the collectors point of view, the BD's that are found would all have lined collars. I'm not saying the early ones aren't out "there", but 99.9% of the time a collector would find a piece with a lined collar.

Ypres

It would be interesting if one were to pop up somewhere. Maybe someone on the forum has a Canadian BD that was made without a collar?

Wouter wrote:

ypres wrote:Yes they do.

Ypres

Weren't early production Canadian battledress collars unlined? I seem to remember that due to irritations in the neck, men were soon permitted to add their own lining and soon after that the manufacturers added the khaki drill material to line the collars.

so if soldiers were complaining about no lining why did the government decide to remove it after ww2?

Interesting question. I have no idea.

Perhaps it was removed because all ranks now wore a collared shirt under the tunic. Wasn't the lining for the closed collar, and if the collar was not closed, and if a collared shirt was worn, there was no need.

Bill,

I agree with your thoughts on the unlined collar on the post WWII tunics. The question really is why were the first BD's made without the lining? In WWI the service dress tunic was made without the lined collar and worn with a collarless shirt. The troops lined the collar and the tunics were later produced (Late 1918 until 1940's) with a lined collar. Why then would the battle dress be originally manufactured without the lined collar? The WWII shirts were provided with a detachable collar. Was the expectation, that this collar should have been worn and the troops chose not to wear it? The patterns on the changes that occur in uniforms is based on the practices (and complaints) of the troops wearing the uniform. The post war BD was made with an open collar because the troops were wearing it open and with a tie.

Ypres

the buttons are not correct for a canadian made BD if I am not mistaken, also the button over flap is not usual for a war time bd as mentioned, I am thinking Belgian PW, could be wrong of course.

ypres wrote:Canadian BD,

One other thing I noticed on your BD is the back. The WWII version was made of two pieces sewn together in the back. Your's looks like the seem in the middle of the back is a false seem created be sewing a line down the piece of fabric? Is this the case or are there two separate pieces sewn together? Check the inside.

fortunately i do not own this battledress and just have these pictures, i was on the verge of buying this until the warnings i got from everyone. I am now currently looking for a different battledress, preferably from the ww2 era. Anyone know a good place to look other than ebay?