Carrier Driver's Uniform

[Grant Bowker]

What is velanizing, how does it apply to battledress, is it a current process, etc.?

[Richard Farrant]

Originally Posted by Grant Bowker

What is velanizing, how does it apply to battledress, is it a current process, etc.?

It was a proofing process, this phrase is within the following trials report on page 30;

Battledress blouse, velanized, was found satisfactory. The velanizing served to shed all snow met with on this exercise.
88 Battledress trousers, velanized, were found satisfactory.

http://pubs.aina.ucalgary.ca/dcass/82784.pdf

[Marc van Aalderen]

Jordan,

Please do blanco your webbing.

Cheers,

[RichardT10829]

then go and crawl through mud, climb all over the carrier, get oily and grubby.

then it will look legit

interesting about carrier drivers, I had an image of my grandfather in his KD kit with what looked like a dinner stain on his jacket just above his belly.... always thought it was a touch shabby on his part

fast forward to 2014..... got out of my carrier wearing my KD jacket looked down... same blob same place

it was a dab of grease from the steering gear which had dropped onto the bottom of the steering wheel after a very very hot day, then transferred onto my kit.

needless to say I left the mark where it was, and I tipped my hat to grandfather.

carrier crews are a scruffy lot.

[Ed Storey]

Yes, whether in the infantry or a vehicle crewman uniforms tend to get dirty from use, but that should not be an excuse to dress poorly when at an event. Remember dress and deportment are key elements of soldiering and that there was a distinct difference between work and everyday clothing and perhaps more importantly, where/when they were worn.

In vehicle compound.jpg

[Jordan Baker]

Well aware of blanco and how much patina one can gain from being on and in a vehicle.

The above photo and this one where from a film shoot I did last year. I just did what the makeup and costume people wanted.

[RichardT10829]

Nice images Stuart. Bottom left sums it up for me, all be it staged.

Too many people (in my most humble opinion) cruise about with their kit in parade format, when you look at actual images taken during fighting, the lads didn't have time to shine buttons and have their kit in top order.......in short they were a mess, and rightly so ! I recall being at an event in Holland, two well known re enactors were with us and were (again in my opinion) spot on with their dress, they actually looked like they had been in the field longer than two hours.

my thoughts were echoed by a veteran who walked up to us and said "Its nice to finally see someone who grasps what we looked like during active service"

it was all the motivation I needed to never wash again


Richie.