Wings5797 Posted 7 January , 2012 Share Posted 7 January , 2012 Can anyone please help me with two small details on the Highland Infantry Tunic (cut away issue)? Did the tunic have the normal brass belt support hooks? Did the tunic have vents at the rear. If so did they follow the two seams that start at the shoulder/arm and curve downward to thr bottom of the tunic skirt? Best regards Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FROGSMILE Posted 7 January , 2012 Share Posted 7 January , 2012 Can anyone please help me with two small details on the Highland Infantry Tunic (cut away issue)? Did the tunic have the normal brass belt support hooks? Did the rear of the tunic have vents at the rear. If so did they follow the two seams that start at the shoulder/arm and curve downward to thr bottom of the tunic skirt? Best regards Keith Keith the initial cut away SD jackets (not tunics) were merely a tailor's creation using the standard jacket. It was not until the 1920s that such jackets were 'issued'. In answer to your other questions: The tunics generally had brass hooks, but these could be and often were removed. The rear of the tunic had two vents that were an extension of the shoulder to skirt seams. These features continued in the purpose made jackets of the 1920s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wings5797 Posted 7 January , 2012 Author Share Posted 7 January , 2012 Many thanks Frogsmile and all the very best for 2012. Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Sweeney Posted 7 January , 2012 Share Posted 7 January , 2012 Keith, Just to add photos to what Frogsmile has said. This is an unissued Universal SD Jacket front and back. These would have been converted at unit level. Joe Sweeney Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Sweeney Posted 7 January , 2012 Share Posted 7 January , 2012 This is a front and Back of a simplified SD Jacket--that has been cutaway--anecdotally it supposed to have been an HLI jacket but I have no proof. Note slight differences in back and front from the SD Jacket above. Joe Sweeney Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wings5797 Posted 7 January , 2012 Author Share Posted 7 January , 2012 Hello Joe, These are great photos and show the vents and hooks very clearly. I take your point that they are very different. Notably the rear seems are not as taylored on the HLI jacket as the un-doctered version. Additionally the HLI version does not have reinforced shoulder patches, pleats on the breast pockets or buttons on the skirt pockets. Could this be due to the increase in demand as the war progressed?. As an additional request, I know that the jacket buttons at the front of the jacket are 25mm diameter can you please tell me the diameter of the pocket and epaulet buttons, Just as an update on my project, I am currently sculpting the 1/9 scale highland brogues that you sent me the excelent photos of. Many thanks Joe and Happy New year, Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Upton Posted 8 January , 2012 Share Posted 8 January , 2012 Could this be due to the increase in demand as the war progressed?. As an additional request, I know that the jacket buttons at the front of the jacket are 25mm diameter can you please tell me the diameter of the pocket and epaulet buttons, You missed out the pockets are slightly larger as well on the Simplified jacket, to compensate for the fact they were unpleated They were only made from late 1914 into 1915, as an easier (and therefore faster) to produce stop-gap alternative to the normal jacket. The curves on the rear are actually formed from separate panels of material. Eliminating them temporarily amongst the other changes did nothing to improve the jackets fit or life span, but helped mean they could be quickly churned out by even relatively unskilled tailors until supplies of the normal jacket had caught up. They then more or less disappear over the course of the rest of the war (but still tend to appear in odd dribs and drabs, excuse the pun, right to the very end). Usual diameter of pocket and epaulette buttons is 18mm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Sweeney Posted 8 January , 2012 Share Posted 8 January , 2012 The pockets on the simplified were not always larger than the pleated ones. The simplified SD jacket I posted above has pockets about the same size and here is a contemporary photo showing similar sized breast pockets. Athough the majority of the simplified jackets did have larger Breast pockets as in thsi example: Joe Sweeney Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wings5797 Posted 8 January , 2012 Author Share Posted 8 January , 2012 Hello Andrew, Many thanks for the information on the buttons question. I am normally working with information about the Household Division and their derss regulations quote three different epaulette button sizes for the five Guards Regiments. Looking at the buttons in Joe's photo and on the jacket example they look smaller than 18mm, could this be that there are variations from regiment to regiment? I know that for most of the war the general service button was used. I am looking for details of a sergeant of the Gordon Highlanders at Le Cateau in August 1914. Maybe he would have been furnished with regimental buttons? Hello Joe, Thank you for the clarification on the Jacket variations. I will plump for your first example with the regimental tailor's modifications as the rear of the jacket is more interesting from a sculpting point of view. As a favour to me could you measure the smaller buttons for me to either confirm that powers of estimation are still good or that I am completely shot away!!! Very best regards Gentlemen and thank you again for your continued help, Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Doyle Posted 9 January , 2012 Share Posted 9 January , 2012 Nice pictures Joe, and particularly nice piece of information regarding the variation in the pocket size of simplified jackets! Best wishes Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wings5797 Posted 9 January , 2012 Author Share Posted 9 January , 2012 Hello Tocemma, These tunics are a bit like doing the football pools.......any eight from ten! Many thanks for a great photograph and information. Best regards, Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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