Stiffy

Just had a theory.... I had wondered if this tunic was in an older style due to the wearer being older, but was confused as to it appearing to be only a lieutenant... All I based this on was the number of holes!!!! Could just as easily be a Major!! that would explain the older style.

I could be wrong but as far as I know the shape of the breeches (or britches as they are sometimes called) is purely a matter of fashion... like flared trousers in the 1970s. As for british ranks here are the main ones (there aer othe varying ranks throughout history like sergeant major... this is technically a Warrant officer... but it gets complicated!) Other ranks and NCO (anyone below officer!) Lowest first Private - No markings Lance Corporal - One stripe on sleeves Corporal - 2 stripes on sleeves Sergeant - 3 stripes on sleeves Staff Sergeant - 3 Stripes with crown above on sleeves Warrant Officer 2nd Class - Crown above cuffs Warrant Officer 1st Class - Royal coat of arms above cuffs Officers Insignia worn on cuffs before 1917... after then on shoulder 2nd Leiutenant - One pip on each shoulder Lieutenant - 2 pips on each shoulder Captain - 3 pips on each shoulder Major - One crown on each shoulder Lieutenant Colonel - One Crown and one pip on each shoulder Colonel - One crown and 2 pips on each shoulder Brigadier - One crown and 3 pips on each shoulder Major General - Crossed sword and baton with one pip on shoulder Lieutenant General - Crossed sword and baton with crown on shoulder General - Crossed sword and baton with crown and one pip Field marshal - I think this varies but generally seems to be a coat of arms in a laurel wreath Hope this helps!

I have made an odd discovery... the tunic turns out to be made in 1942 after all (found a hidden makers label stitched in a pocket)!!! Which has me and several other people I have shown a little confused... the tunic is definitely cut in 1917 pattern and style which follwed the current fashions of the time.... so why the hell was it cut this way in 42?... Whoever had this uniform had tastes 25 years behind the times!.. perhaps an old veteran?.. but he had still only made it to lieutenant?... Basically would be like me ordering a new suit with flares! Upshot of all this is however that this item is now extremely valuable for completely different reasons! On one hand there is one group of people who would be interested in it as a curious piece of ww2 uniform andon the other hand there is a second group who can see it's pottential for conversion for ww1 reenactment. (jacket is 42 inch chest...very rare large size for age). So as a ww2 item it is still worth more than I payed for it But to a ww1 reenactor could be worth alot more, after all a good replica costs £350 and this is better.. because it is a genuine uniform in near mint condition. I've put it up on ebay to see how it goes... 9 days to go and it already has 4 bids and 14 watchers!! http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1942-British-uniform-jacket-in-WW1-patern-42-Chest_W0QQitemZ230404133638QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Collectables_Militaria_LE?hash=item35a5281306 I had considered keeping but it is too small for me as Ideally I take a 44/46 chest... the rfc tunic is also a little tight but will keep it until I can upgrade!

I'm still a little stunned by the amazing good luck i've had today..... Thought I'd call in at a local antique shop which I knew had some nice militaria in it (including one of goerings actual uniforms... yes really, amazingly they also have the first ever tramp outfit worn by chaplin!!!!! cost them a fortune)... anyway one of their british tunics at the back of a case on a rack caught my eye, the owner said he thought it was ww2 and i could have for £50, I beat him down to £40.... Point is the guy knows a fair bit about ww2 german uniforms... and thats really where his expertise stops, otherwise he would have realised he had just sold me...... A genuine first world war officer's jacket in superb condition!!!!!!!!!!! still in shock, it's worth a lot more than £40!!!! It is possible that this jacket could be as late as early 1920s but impossible to be sure as exactly the same style as ww1. I can identify as ww1 pattern based on several elements, firstly the cut is in the ww1 style with a very long, full pleated skirt with huge lower pockets, this is to fit over the riding breeches. pattern was changed in early 1920s when breeches replaced with trousers. also the front portion of the jacket is made in two sections with a ticket pocket on the seam (usually hidden behind Sam Brown). The uniform is from the Royal Army Ordnance Corps and hass all of it's original buttons... sadly the collar dogs are missing and there are marks on the shoulders indicating that it used to have pips for a lieutenant. Needless to say I will not be converting this valuable antique to RFC... but I will be photographing and measuring it extensively then will sell it on and use the profits towards my replica.

Its avery different style of flying in these crates... dont expect precision rolls. It is worth noting howerver that many pilots of the time deliberately stalled their machines to perform evasive maneuvers... the trick is practicing getting out of the stall.

It is quite acurate that it was possible to recive the same award several times. Each time your recived it you a added a bar... would be nice if the game added bars instead of whole medals though. Also needs some adjustment as DFC shoulnt exist until the end of the war.

And found your breeches! (asuming you need red not blue...) Scroll down to their Red Steampunk Santa Breeches! very good match for french red officers breeches. http://www.twinrosesdesigns.com/Mens%20Clothing%20for%20Sale.html I'll keep an eye our for blue in case thats what you want... not up on french uniforms so dont know which you need...

These would make an interesting addition! http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1912-Pre-WW1-French-Pilot-Goggles-Maker-JBJ_W0QQitemZ200406966519QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Collectables_Militaria_LE?hash=item2ea92fa0f7

They do look good, like the look of their lanyard and holsters too... I'll bear them in mind if i cant find anything cheaper over here. They want $70 postage though so may not be an option.

Fantastic! now all we need is a german and an america.... oh and some planes! Had to change pockets from square to scalloped on a uniform once, was a pain. Changing from scalloped to square should be much easier . Do you know what you're going to do with the bottom pockets? looks like th marine pockets are stitched flat against the uniform where the ww1 tunic has concertina pockets and a pleat on the front... If you could get a good match for your fabric you could add the extra cloth in. what colour where the breeches on french uniform... blue or red?

Thats right, they both held the title of Freiherr (litterally Freeman/freelord). I've met quite a few people in England under the misconception that Freiherr was manfreds middle name lol

Went out to a local craft and antique fair this morning. Found a stall selling military badges, buttons etc and picked up these vintage brass and enamel officer's shoulder pips. These are quite hard to date but could even be originals from ww1. Likely pre ww2 anyway as they where quickly replaced with cloth to save on brass. They are a matching pair and a matching set of four from different uniforms. Cost my the bargain price of £3 the lot For now I have used the pair to make the uniform a second lieutenant (point of interest... over here in the UK we pronounce it "Leftenant") Still no luck finding a cheap sam brown!

Reminds me of when I worked for a wholesaler. They had a new health and safety officer, was keen to introduce High Vis jackets as there were alot of forklifts about.... so they issued them, but only to the fork lift drivers.... the only people not at risk of being hit. excellent idea, those bright yellow, loud, 10 ton fork lifts with the flashing lights were really hard to spot before they put a vest on the driver.

Thought Id try putting together what I have so far to see how it looks. Still a long way to go. Visually the biggest missing element I think is the sam brown belt and shoulder strap, got a strap for the cap on the way for a couple of pounds. Not happy with the colour of the breeches so may sell them to fund some lighter coloured ones if I can... spent my £10 budget for this week though so will have to wait! If it all lookes a bit stretches its because the manaquin I have would be about 7 feet tall if it had a head! Usually displays a replica of darth vader i bought in more solvent times!

Be interesting to see how much this goes for.... http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/IMPERIAL-GERMAN-PRUSSIAN-WWI-WW1-OFFICERS-VISOR-CAP_W0QQitemZ140359739127QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item20ae17a6f7

I enjoyed it but not historically acurate (but does that really matter if you enjoy the film?) Nice to see some good looking albatrosses in a film. That being said its practically a factual documentary when compared to the ridiculous hollywood rubbish that was 'Flyboys' so considering the lack of modern competition its definitely worth a watch. Aces High was a better film but the aircraft where awful (inter war radial biplanes)

I'll have to be an officer and a gentleman... and not just because I have delusions of grandeur! Only commisioned officers from 2nd lieutenant and up would have worn a uniform like this. Lower ranks had the unfortunate honour of wearing this.... Which quite frankly makes the wearer look like a tit. So it will be at least one pip for me!

Well just spent the last few hours stitching! Amazing the difference brass buttons and the wings makes. Just needs the collar badges ans rank pips now to finish the jacket.

That would be great, any leads I can get! Just so long as they are cheap! With your interest in german uniform have you ever considered putting together a ww1 german pilots uniform? I also dug out my wermacht uniform from the loft.... It's awful! Repainted spanish helmet with a converted swedish jacket! Used to have some 1950s border guard jackboots but they fell apart.... years ago had an africakorp uniform, shouldnt have got rid of it really... appeared to be original too.

The shirt and tie are spot on for the uniform, all that is needed now is a collar pin (basically a large brass safety pin) to go accros the back of the tie and through the collars. I will also need to track down some RFC collar badges for the jacket lapels.

Ok, been a good day for adding to the uniform! After stating up the post it jogged my memory about the box of old uniform bits I have in the loft (mainly ww2 or after) so I went up and had a look and sure enough there was a standard british army service dress shirt (probably 1980s). The only pattern difference between this and the ww1 version is that in ww1 they only unbuttoned half way down. As the extra buttons on mine will be hidden by the tunic it looks identical. Then about an hour ago I popped into town for some shopping, as my local spar shop is next to an army surplus store I thought I'd have a look in and for the kingly sum of £2 each I managed to get.... A British army service tie (unchanged since ww1) And some standard issue braces, not sure how (if at all) these have changed since ww1 but as they are hidden doesnt really matter! Still only just scraping below the budget I used to spend on tobbaco For US members - cigarettes are heavily taxed in the UK a packet of 20 cigarettes costs nearly 10 US Dollars!

That would be fantastic! always interested in anything like that, or any uniform bits they may get in. As for boots the two main options for officers were full riding boots (expensive unless lucky) or brown ancle boots with leather full calf gaiters, I may get lucky and get a cheap pair of gaiters from ebay as they are still made for hunting and riding.

lol might be a while before I can afford the leathers. But in a way this is all part of the flight kit as pilots wore their uniform under the leather coat (except the hat of course!). In fact you would be court marshalled if you didn't wear your full unifom when flying (if caught out of uniform by the enemy you would be shot as a spy). I'll get the whole set eventually! But maybe not until after my degree...

Ok, many of you know that I'm a mature student and as such not the wealthiest of people. For a while now I've wanted a replica ww1 uniform but have never had the cash. A month and a half ago I quit smoking and as an extra incentive I've decided to spend the savings on myself. So I have set myself a challenge to see if it is possible to put together something resembling an RFC uniform without paying out for expensive repros or originals. I think I should make it clear that I am not going for 100% authentic, just something that looks the part for fancy dress etc... but would not stand up to the great war society! This is what I have gathers so far for a few quid here and there..... Firstly I already had the replica wings ( put a post about it a while back) but have added a very good replica of the cap badge (is very authentic as has metal spikes instead of loops and pins, had an original raf one which had spikes). As it there is currently noone producing replica RFC buttons and a genuine set sells for around £100 I have decided to use general service buttons, these where used in ww1 whenever there was no regimental button available. All the buttons are originals, hard to date as pattern didnt change but more likely from ww2, managed to find a full set from the same maker so match perfectly. I managed to find a mint condition unissued service cap. This is Nato surplus but very little has changed in the pattern since ww1. I will fit 2 service buttons to the sides and the cap badge to the front, still need to find a ww1 style strap for it though. The tunic has been the trickiest part to replicate. Good replicas cost around £300 and originals around £500 in good condition. I have found a compromise by using a british tunic from the 1970s. The general layout of the late ww1 tunic (the one without the braid on the sleeves) didn't change a great deal until 1980. The only noticable difference is the 1970s tunic is a little shorter and the lower pockets a little smaller.... but at £10 I cant really complain! Currently the tunic has the buttons of the Ulster defence regiment but i will replace with the general service buttons. The final piece I have aquired so far is by far the best find, an original inter war pair of elephant ear riding breeches. These are very close to the pattern used in ww1 and are in pristine condition. Easily worth £50... I paid £5 !!!! Next stop.... how cheap can I get a sam brown belt??? I'll post more as I work on the uniform.

Just 5 working days for mine.... could be held up at customs perhaps, happens sometimes.