Service Dress (British Army)
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Service Dress is the style of
khaki The color khaki (, ) is a light shade of tan (color), tan with a slight yellowish tinge. Khaki has been used by many armies around the world for uniforms and equipment, particularly in arid or desert regions, where it provides camouflage rela ...
service dress uniform Service dress uniform is the informal type of uniform used by military, police, fire and other public uniformed services for everyday office, barracks and non-field duty purposes and sometimes for ceremonial occasions. It frequently consists of a ...
introduced by the
British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
for use in the field from the early 1900s, following the experiences of a number of imperial wars and conflicts, including the
Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...
. This variant of uniform continues to be worn today, although only in a formal role, as No. 2 Pattern dress.


Khaki

During the latter half of the nineteenth century, the bright red tunics worn by British infantry regiments had proved to be a liability, especially when during the
First Boer War The First Boer War (, ), was fought from 16 December 1880 until 23 March 1881 between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and Boers of the Transvaal (as the South African Republic was known while under British ad ...
they had been faced by enemies armed with rifles firing the new smokeless cartridges. This had been exacerbated by the white cross-belts and ammunition pouches worn by the line infantry The term ''Khaki'' (
Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
for ''dusty'') had come from India and was used to describe the 'Drab' uniform first worn in 1848 by the Corps of Guides. During the
Indian Mutiny The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the form ...
of 1857 many British regiments took to staining their white tropical uniforms with tea leaves or other makeshift dyes in order to camouflage them. Rifle regiments had long used dark green uniforms (with blackened badges, buttons, and carrying equipment) as camouflage and some units of the
Volunteer Force The Volunteer Force was a citizen army of part-time rifle, artillery and engineer corps, created as a Social movement, popular movement throughout the British Empire in 1859. Originally highly autonomous, the units of volunteers became increa ...
London Regiment had adopted Hodden grey uniforms for the same purpose. Numerous khaki drill uniforms were adopted by units in the field over the turn of the century but the darker khaki standardised ''Service Dress'' uniform was not adopted until after the
Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...
. First publicly displayed in 1902, the new uniform did not become universal issue until the following year for all of the regular army serving in Britain. Scarlet, dark blue and rifle green uniforms were retained as "review order" (parade) and "walking out" (off duty wear out of barracks) until 1914. After World War I they were reintroduced only for the Brigade of Guards, Household Cavalry, regimental bands and for other limited purposes such as wear by officers attending
levees A levee ( or ), dike (American English), dyke (British English; see spelling differences), embankment, floodbank, or stop bank is an elevated ridge, natural or artificial, alongside the banks of a river, often intended to protect against fl ...
.


Service Dress


Other Ranks

For Other Ranks, the SD uniform originally comprised khaki wool (serge) trousers, a khaki wool tunic, with stand-and-fall (or ''Prussian'') collar, four pockets on the front, each buttoned closed by a flap with a straight (horizontal) edge, large, serge reinforcement patches over each shoulder, shoulder straps and a pair of brass wire hangers on the back, over the kidneys, to support the belt. The front of the jacket was closed by five buttons, usually of a regimental pattern, brass for most regiments and corps, but black for rifle regiments, arranged vertically. A peaked cap was provided, covered in the same khaki serge (including the stiff peak), with a leather chin strap (brown, for most regiments) held at either side by brass or horn buttons. This uniform was worn with ankle
Ammunition boots Ammunition boots are a form of military footwear. They were the standard combat boot for the British Army and other forces around the British Empire and Commonwealth from at least the mid-1860s until their replacement a century later in the 1960s ...
; in the field,
Puttee file:Puttees from American Infantry Chauchat.jpg, Close-up of a World War I era United States Army infantryman's puttees A puttee (also spelled ''puttie'', adapted from the Hindi language, Hindi ''wikt:पट्टी, paṭṭī'', meaning "band ...
s would be wound up (or down) the length of the shins, covering the top of the boots. The carrying equipment worn by infantry with this uniform was normally the 1908 Pattern Webbing, made of fabric and also khaki (though a lighter shade than the uniform). Cavalry and gunners of the
Royal Regiment of Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...
did not wear webbing equipment, but instead used the leather 1903 Bandolier Equipment, worn over one shoulder. Originally derived from the
bandolier A bandolier / bandoleer or a bando is a pocketed belt (clothing), belt for holding either individual Cartridge (firearms), cartridges, belt (firearms), belts of ammunition or United States 40 mm grenades, grenades. It is usually slung sash-styl ...
s carried by the Boer commandos during the
Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...
, it had been found to be unsuitable for infantry use but remained in service with mounted troops. Headgear was initially a
forage cap Forage cap is the designation given to various types of military undress, fatigue or working headwear. These vary widely in form, according to country or period. The coloured peaked cap worn by the modern British Army for parade and other dress occ ...
without a peak, similar to those worn by the German Army; it was known as the "Brodrick cap", named after
St John Brodrick William St John Fremantle Brodrick, 1st Earl of Midleton, KP, PC, DL (14 December 185613 February 1942), styled as St John Brodrick until 1907 and as Viscount Midleton between 1907 and 1920, was a British Conservative and Irish Unionist Al ...
, the
Secretary of State for War The secretary of state for war, commonly called the war secretary, was a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, which existed from 1794 to 1801 and from 1854 to 1964. The secretary of state for war headed the War Offic ...
. This proved to be unpopular and was replaced in 1905 by the now familiar
peaked cap A peaked cap, peaked hat, service cap, barracks cover, or combination cap is a form of headgear worn by the armed forces of many nations, as well as many uniformed civilian organisations such as law enforcement agencies and fire departments. It d ...
; however, the Brodrick cap was retained by the
Royal Marines The Royal Marines provide the United Kingdom's amphibious warfare, amphibious special operations capable commando force, one of the :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, five fighting arms of the Royal Navy, a Company (military unit), company str ...
until 1930. In late 1914, the Winter Service Dress Cap was introduced; it had a soft peak and crown with woollen ear flaps that could be buttoned together over the top. It was commonly known as the "
Gorblimey Cor blimey or gorblimey may refer to: * A British slang phrase for an exclamation of surprise * ''Cor, Blimey!'', a 2000 television film and a spin-off of the ''Carry On'' comedy franchise * Gorblimey Press, founded by Barry Windsor-Smith * "Gor b ...
" cap, allegedly from the expletive uttered by sergeant majors when they first saw them. They were not much used after mid-1916.


Officers

The Officers' Service Dress was completely different, except in colour. The cloth used was tailored and of more expensive wool, and the tunic had longer skirts. After 1908 the turn-down collar was replaced by open stepped lapels. This created a jacket, similar to a civilian
lounge suit A suit, also called a lounge suit, business suit, dress suit, or formal suit, is a set of clothes comprising a suit jacket and trousers of identical textiles generally worn with a collared dress shirt, necktie, and dress shoes. A skirt suit ...
, rather than a tunic, and revealed a shirt collar and tie; the shirt was initially white and the tie black; but from 1913 these were both replaced with khaki. The breast pockets were pleated and closed by scalloped flaps, while those at the hips had straight edges. There was a shoulder strap on each shoulder but rank was originally displayed on the cuffs, which were scalloped at the closure and edged with herring-bone pattern khaki tape. Trousers, or riding breeches, and brown leather
Riding boot A riding boot is a boot made to be used for horse riding. The classic boot comes high enough up the leg to prevent the leathers of the saddle from pinching the leg of the rider, has a sturdy toe to protect the rider's foot when on the ground and ...
s were worn (even in infantry regiments, as officers traditionally rode on campaign). The carrying equipment was the leather
Sam Browne General (United Kingdom), General Sir Samuel James Browne, (3 October 1824 – 14 March 1901) was a British Indian Army cavalry officer, known best as the creator of the Sam Browne belt. He was a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the most prest ...
pattern, brown for most regiments, black for Rifle Regiments. Officers also wore a khaki peaked cap with a cloth visor that was similar to the men's, but made of superior materials and of better quality. Unlike other ranks, officers were expected to pay for their own uniforms, pistol, sword and Sam Browne belt.


Scottish Variations

Scottish Highland pattern uniforms differed in the wearing of tartan
kilt A kilt ( ) is a garment resembling a wrap-around knee-length skirt, made of twill-woven worsted wool with heavy pleats at the sides and back and traditionally a tartan pattern. Originating in the Scottish Highland dress for men, it is first r ...
s or
trews Trews (or truis, ) are men's clothing for the legs and lower abdomen, a traditional form of tartan trousers from Scottish Highland dress. Trews could be trimmed with leather, usually buckskin, especially on the inner leg to prevent wear from ...
, rather than trousers or breeches and in alterations in the design of the tunic and jacket to make them resemble the traditional Highland doublet type – notably in cutting away the skirts at the front of the tunic to allow the wearing of a sporran. Most Scottish regiments did not wear the service dress peaked cap but either the Glengarry or Tam O'Shanter.


Tropical variation

There were also lightweight uniforms for wear in warmer climates, known as Khaki Drill (KD). The Officers' was little different in cut, but the Other Ranks tunic was distinguished from the temperate service dress by having only the breast pockets. Both were made from a lighter cloth (both in weight, and in shade). Trousers were often replaced by
Bermuda shorts Bermuda shorts, also known as walk shorts or dress shorts, are a particular type of short trousers, worn as semi-casual attire by both men and women. The hem, which can be cuffed or un-cuffed, is around above the knee. They are so-named because ...
. The same cap was generally worn, however, if worn at all –
pith helmet The pith helmet, also known as the safari helmet, salacot, sola topee, sun helmet, topee, and topi is a lightweight cloth-covered helmet made of sholapith. The pith helmet originates from the Spanish Empire, Spanish military adaptation of the nat ...
s, covered in khaki cloth, continued to be the norm in warm climates up to the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. Only officers are issued this dress today, on posting to tropical areas, as No.4 Dress.


Royal Air Force

The khaki Service Dress tunic adopted for the
Royal Flying Corps The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was the air arm of the British Army before and during the First World War until it merged with the Royal Naval Air Service on 1 April 1918 to form the Royal Air Force. During the early part of the war, the RFC sup ...
(RFC) in 1912 had a wide cloth panel (a plastron) across the chest with concealed buttons, since it was thought that the usual button arrangement would be liable to catch on the bracing wires used on aircraft at that time. This tunic was popularly known as the "maternity jacket". The Naval Wing of the RFC, later the
Royal Naval Air Service The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the air arm of the Royal Navy, under the direction of the Admiralty (United Kingdom), Admiralty's Air Department, and existed formally from 1 July 1914 to 1 April 1918, when it was merged with the British ...
(RNAS), wore naval uniform. On 1 April 1918, the RFC and RNAS merged to form the
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...
(RAF). Initially, the uniforms of the former services continued in use, but on 1 May, an "interim" RAF uniform was approved which was basically the standard khaki Army Service Dress. A light blue version of Service Dress was approved for daily wear on 10 July, but this proved highly unpopular and many persisted with their old outfits. Finally, on 1 October 1919, the RAF Service Dress of a blue-grey colour, known as Air Force blue, was introduced.


The Great War

This was the standard combat uniform of the British Army at the start of the
Great War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
and remained little changed throughout. The radical appearance of the Service Dress is demonstrated by accounts of German troops, who on first seeing British soldiers, thought that their clothing was more like a civilian
golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...
outfit than a military uniform. With the numbers of uniforms produced, minor variations appeared, especially in the private soldiers' hat and the shape of the tunic collar. A soft version of the peaked OR cap was introduced, nicknamed the ''Gor Blimey''. This was an attempt at conservation but had the advantage of being able to be stuffed into a pocket or even pressed underneath the new steel
Brodie helmet The Brodie helmet is a steel combat helmet designed and patented in London in 1915 by Latvian inventor John Leopold Brodie (). A modified form of it became the Helmet, Steel, Mark I in Britain and the M1917 Helmet in the US. Colloquially, it wa ...
, which came into service in 1916 as the realities of trench warfare and its attendant artillery bombardment, set in. Although this was the standard combat uniform for the British Army and colonial units (at least when serving in temperate climates), the armies of the Commonwealth countries (which originally referred to those with Dominion status) had variations on the theme. The Canadian tunic was closed by seven buttons and had a conventional tunic collar (all stand and no fall), although the Canadian Officer's Service Dress was the same as that in the British Army. The Australian version of service dress, brought into use in 1912 and called the ''Commonwealth Pattern'' differed significantly. It was a lighter pea-green colour, had a voluminous pleat in the back, sewn-on waist belt, four large front pockets and triangular shaped upper pocket flaps. Officers' SD uniforms were modified during the War chiefly in that plain cuffs were introduced, with the rank insignia moved to the shoulder straps. The reason for this was that the old cuffs had made it too easy for enemy snipers to distinguish officers from men. Scottish Highland regiments replaced the sporran during the war, with a khaki cloth apron with a large, buttoned pocket where the sporran would sit.


Kitchener's Blues

At the outbreak of war in 1914, the huge number of volunteers answering the appeal of
Secretary of State for War The secretary of state for war, commonly called the war secretary, was a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, which existed from 1794 to 1801 and from 1854 to 1964. The secretary of state for war headed the War Offic ...
, Lord Kitchener, were formed into a New Army. The problem of providing uniforms for these recruits was acute and many trained in their civilian clothes for weeks, while others were temporarily issued with peacetime scarlet from store. Finally, a highly simplified version of Service Dress was produced for them, without breast pockets, shoulder straps and other refinements. They were dark blue in colour, because the original khaki dye had been produced in Germany before the war and it had proved difficult to acquire sufficient from alternative sources. This colour gave rise to the popular name for the uniform; "Kitchener's Blues". Around 500,000 sets of these uniforms were produced and worn during basic training. Rumours that the first issue of Blues were actually postmen's uniforms are unlikely to be correct as the tunics issued by the
General Post Office The General Post Office (GPO) was the state postal system and telecommunications carrier of the United Kingdom until 1969. Established in England in the 17th century, the GPO was a state monopoly covering the dispatch of items from a specific ...
were of a different cut and were edged with red
piping Within industry, piping is a system of pipes used to convey fluids (liquids and gases) from one location to another. The engineering discipline of piping design studies the efficient transport of fluid. Industrial process piping (and accomp ...
; however, some sources state that a large quantity of blue uniform cloth was acquired from Post Office stocks for this purpose.


Great War gallery

Image:Royal Irish Rifles ration party Somme July 1916.jpg, Irish soldiers in Service Dress uniforms wait in a trench at the Somme, on the Western Front. Image:Douglas Haig.jpg, Field Marshal Haig, in Service Dress Image:Officers and members of the 26th Battalion of the Second Canadian Expeditionary Force.jpg, 26th Battalion of the Second
Canadian Expeditionary Force The Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF; French: ''Corps expéditionnaire canadien'') was the expeditionary warfare, expeditionary field force of Canada during the First World War. It was formed on August 15, 1914, following United Kingdom declarat ...
, 1915. The Canadian OR tunic had a vertical collar and six buttons. Image:BC RGA Leaders In England.jpg, Bermudian officers and senior ranks of the
Royal Garrison Artillery The Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) was formed in 1899 as a distinct arm of the British Army's Royal Artillery, Royal Regiment of Artillery serving alongside the other two arms of the Regiment, the Royal Field Artillery (RFA) and the Royal Horse ...
. Like the cavalry, Gunners did not wear 1908 Web Equipment, but retained the 1903
Bandolier A bandolier / bandoleer or a bando is a pocketed belt (clothing), belt for holding either individual Cartridge (firearms), cartridges, belt (firearms), belts of ammunition or United States 40 mm grenades, grenades. It is usually slung sash-styl ...
Equipment. File:Soldiers of the Bermuda Contingent of the Royal Garrison Artillery in a CCS in July 1916.jpg, Soldiers of the Bermuda Contingent of the Royal Garrison Artillery (
Bermuda Militia Artillery The Bermuda Militia Artillery was a unit of part-time soldiers organised in 1895 as a reserve for the Royal Garrison Artillery detachment of the Regular Army garrison in the Imperial fortress colony of Bermuda. Militia Artillery units of the Un ...
) in a Casualty Clearing Station in July 1916 File:1930-11-11 Major RC Earl & Lieutenant-Colonel RJ Tucker BVRC at Free Masons Hall City of Hamilton Bermuda.jpg, Major RC Earl & Lieutenant-Colonel RJ Tucker Bermuda Volunteer Rifle Corps, on
Armistice Day Armistice Day, later known as Remembrance Day in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth and Veterans Day in the United States, is commemorated every year on 11 November to mark Armistice of 11 November 1918, the armistice signed between th ...
, 1930, in warm weather and temperate officers' Service Dress Image:Party of men of the Leicesters going home on leave (Photo 24-323).jpg, Soldiers of the
Leicestershire Regiment The Leicestershire Regiment (Royal Leicestershire Regiment after 1946) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, with a history going back to 1688. The regiment saw service for three centuries, in numerous wars and conflicts such as both ...
in France in 1915, with their 1908 Web Equipment in Full Marching Order File:Victor Earl Barnes, 1915 (8075456653).jpg, An Australian recruit wearing the Commonwealth Pattern Service Dress in 1915 File:Billy Bishop VC.jpg, Canadian pilot
Billy Bishop Air Marshal William Avery Bishop, (8 February 1894 – 11 September 1956) was a Canadian flying ace of the First World War. He was officially credited with 72 victories, making him the top Canadian and British Empire ace of the war, and a ...
VC wearing the tunic adopted by the
Royal Flying Corps The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was the air arm of the British Army before and during the First World War until it merged with the Royal Naval Air Service on 1 April 1918 to form the Royal Air Force. During the early part of the war, the RFC sup ...
in 1912. It had concealed buttons and was known as the "maternity jacket".


The Second World War

The Service Dress uniform continued to be the field uniform of the British Army until shortly before the Second World War, although many units continued to wear it after the start of hostilities and many Home Guard personnel wore it throughout the War. Service Dress was officially replaced as the standard combat uniform of the British and Canadian Armies in 1939, with the introduction of
Battle Dress A combat uniform, also called a field uniform, battledress, or fatigues, is a casual uniform used by military, police, fire, and other public uniformed services for everyday fieldwork and duty, as opposed to dress uniforms for formal function ...
. Service Dress continued to be used by officers throughout the war, as a walking out dress and for semi-formal functions. Senior officers might rarely be seen in any other uniform. The Sam Browne belt had been replaced as carrying equipment for officers by the '37 Pattern web equipment but continued to be worn with the Service Dress, usually reduced to the belt and one brace (worn as a cross strap), though a frog or pistol holster might be added as needed). The Australian Army continued to wear its version of Service Dress as its standard combat uniform throughout the war.


Current use

When Battle Dress was replaced with the green cotton 1960 Pattern Combat Dress, Service Dress was reintroduced as an intermediary between combat uniforms and
Full Dress Full Dress (foaled 1966) was a French-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare best known for winning the British Classic Races, classic 1000 Guineas in 1969. Full Dress was beaten on her first two starts as a two-year-old but ...
as Number Two Dress.The tunic has become a jacket, with an open collar for wear with collared shirt and tie, and cap, jacket, and trousers are all made from a smoother cloth than the rough serge. In some regiments a beret is worn in place of the peaked cap.


See also

*
British Battledress Battledress (BD), later named the No. 5 Uniform, was the combat uniform worn by British Commonwealth and Imperial forces through the Second World War. Battledress was introduced into the British Army just before the start of the war and worn u ...
*
British Army Uniform The uniforms of the British Army currently exist in twelve categories ranging from ceremonial uniforms to combat dress (with full dress uniform and frock coats listed in addition). Uniforms in the British Army are specific to the regiment (or cor ...
*
Dress Uniform Full dress uniform, also known as a ceremonial dress uniform or parade dress uniform, is among the most formal wear, formal type of uniform used by military, police, firefighter, fire and other public uniformed services for official parade (mili ...
*
Military uniform A military uniform is a standardised clothing, dress worn by members of the armed forces and Paramilitary, paramilitaries of various nations. Military dress and styles have gone through significant changes over the centuries, from colourful ...


References

{{reflist


External links


Light Infantry Dress


British military uniforms British Army equipment Service dress uniforms