Jacket service dress o.r. . what time frame please

[coffmanb17]

I brought a jacket service dress o.r. can the members of the forum i.d. what it is ? and the time frame it was used.. it has some plastic buttons and some metal, brass buttons another odd thing it is a small size. the first photo is a little dark but other are ok. and what does the number 903 mean ? could it be the date 1903 ? i look forward to the answers because thinking some members would have got one in there collection 

Edited 16 August , 2023 by coffmanb17
to add photo

[4thGordons]

I believe it's an inter-war (1922) Pattern Service Dress Jacket.

I have several of them - they continued to be made up until at least 1942 (including some in Australia)

There are several variations (with and without pocket pleats/rifle patches - so some look very like the simplified pattern Service Dress of WWI) Some like yours that do not have pocket pleats but do have rifle patches. The I think the buttons are some early form of plastic (I have seen it called pressed vegetable) buttons.

Chris

[coffmanb17]

Chris, thank you for your reply, have you any idea about the 903 printed on the label is ? please 

[4thGordons]

10 minutes ago, coffmanb17 said:

Chris, thank you for your reply, have you any idea about the 903 printed on the label is ? please 

Sorry I do not.

Some of mine have a date stamp in the space above the manufacturer, other ones a service number has been written across the space.

It could perhaps be a partial service number or some kind of inventory number of some sort I suppose   - I am confident it is not a date.

(I will see if I can take a few pics of the labels in mine for comparison but I am not sure I can get at all of them)

Chris

[4thGordons]

I could only get at two of them easily. Apologies for the poor pics I was reaching into a cramped storage and didn't want to unpack everything

one has no label but does have the WD inspection stamp

The other has a completed label with date May 1943 and a number 3591 stamped close to where yours is: see below

 

FWIW displayed on a mannequin with equipment/respirator etc over the top of it these are virtually indistinguishable from the wartime version. I use mine for display to allow me to store the genuine one in a more protected environment.

Chris

Edited 16 August , 2023 by 4thGordons

[depaor01]

My example has always puzzled me as it's dated 1934 but made much earlier. Thanks Chris for explaining that.

Similar WD mark and number. Brass service buttons. 

Not sure if it helps the conversation,  but here it is.

 

Edited 16 August , 2023 by depaor01

[Andrew Upton]

5 hours ago, coffmanb17 said:

I brought a jacket service dress o.r. can the members of the forum i.d. what it is ? and the time frame it was used.. it has some plastic buttons and some metal, brass buttons another odd thing it is a small size. the first photo is a little dark but other are ok. and what does the number 903 mean ? could it be the date 1903 ? i look forward to the answers because thinking some members would have got one in there collection ...

 

As already posted above - this is a typical post-WW1 Service Dress jacket as manufactured during WW2. The lack of pleats in the chest pockets is the obvious general giveaway it is WW2 production, whilst the letter N (over the War Department and /I\ with the Inspectors number of 273) in this time period denotes it was made/passed fit for use in 1943.

[Andrew Upton]

3 hours ago, depaor01 said:

My example has always puzzled me as it's dated 1934 but made much earlier. Thanks Chris for explaining that.

Similar WD mark and number. Brass service buttons. 

Not sure if it helps the conversation,  but here it is.

 

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the label and some of the stamps in that tunic are as fake as fake can be unfortunately. G. Feathers & Co was a name favoured by a well known faker, and has appeared on a number of items in the past (see below, from a faked WW1 tunic and a faked WW1 leather jerkin). A giveaway in this case is the fake labels typically state the size is 2 for some reason - whereas the stamped 13 is a genuine mark denoting the actual correct size:

[depaor01]

5 hours ago, Andrew Upton said:

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the label and some of the stamps in that tunic are as fake as fake can be unfortunately. G. Feathers & Co was a name favoured by a well known faker, and has appeared on a number of items in the past (see below, from a faked WW1 tunic and a faked WW1 leather jerkin). A giveaway in this case is the fake labels typically state the size is 2 for some reason - whereas the stamped 13 is a genuine mark denoting the actual correct size:

Well bu66er me.

I appreciate the info Andrew. I'd  like to know how much of mine is fake. For instance is it 1980s manufacture, or 1940s misleadingly labeled.

I bought it decades ago so no big drama.

I'll start a new thread so as not to hijack this one.

Thanks,

Dave

[Andrew Upton]

9 hours ago, depaor01 said:

...I appreciate the info Andrew. I'd  like to know how much of mine is fake. For instance is it 1980s manufacture, or 1940s misleadingly labeled.

I bought it decades ago so no big drama...

From what I can see it probably was a 1940's/50's original. This style of faking seemed to have taken off in the early 1980's when these jackets were cheap and plentiful. As collecting WW1 militaria took off they started to reappear with new labels and stamps added to lure people into believing they were WW1 production. As better information then started to get around in collecting circles on how to identify these post-WW1 jackets as such the faker seems to have changed tack and started to add 1920's/30's markings instead (less easy to detect but still adding value). 

[depaor01]

1 hour ago, Andrew Upton said:

From what I can see it probably was a 1940's/50's original. This style of faking seemed to have taken off in the early 1980's when these jackets were cheap and plentiful. As collecting WW1 militaria took off they started to reappear with new labels and stamps added to lure people into believing they were WW1 production. As better information then started to get around in collecting circles on how to identify these post-WW1 jackets as such the faker seems to have changed tack and started to add 1920's/30's markings instead (less easy to detect but still adding value). 

OK. Thanks for that Andrew. 

[coffmanb17]

Just had a update from a ww1 collector and he tells me the  N on the WD B-road arrow stamp signifies it was accepted for service 1943, likely made around then as well  can any other ww1 collectors confirm this please ?  and again a big thank you for the reply's i have had so far .

[Andrew Upton]

On 17/08/2023 at 02:20, Andrew Upton said:

As already posted above - this is a typical post-WW1 Service Dress jacket as manufactured during WW2. The lack of pleats in the chest pockets is the obvious general giveaway it is WW2 production, whilst the letter N (over the War Department and /I\ with the Inspectors number of 273) in this time period denotes it was made/passed fit for use in 1943.

6 hours ago, coffmanb17 said:

Just had a update from a ww1 collector and he tells me the  N on the WD B-road arrow stamp signifies it was accepted for service 1943, likely made around then as well  can any other ww1 collectors confirm this please ?  and again a big thank you for the reply's i have had so far .

As I posted on Thursday of last week...