Aussie stuff

[paul.j]

b/dress

Gyday Paul
I don't know Norm Fuller or his book, but considering the para unit in Australia didn't start forming untill March 43, {only 2 rifle companies at the time} then didn't start taking on volunteers to form a battalion till late 43 to late 44, I would say your statment about the battle dress is blown out of the water. I've posted close ups of the insignia, are you willing to catagorically say they are fakes?.
Regards Bruce

I would suggest you go and read the book before you make yourself an expert on the subject - and BTW,its not my statement,its from a member of 1st para bn-but I guess he would know less than you?

[Steve P]

Some great stuff in this thread!

[Lone Pine]

I would suggest you go and read the book before you make yourself an expert on the subject - and BTW,its not my statement,its from a member of 1st para bn-but I guess he would know less than you?

I'm not claiming to be an expert on the subject, just a few minutes on the net and I found the information. I thought today that going to the horses mouth is the best way of gaining information, so I rang a veteran of the para battalion. He told me that he remembers these jackets were still being issued to sometime in the middle of 44, then they were issued the standard one. He did also say that most of these jackets were brought with the volunteers from other units, like Commado's etc. He also said that allot of the blokes that volunteered were from the 8th Batt. He said he has a nominal roll he is going to send me, maybe it will say where each bloke transfered from. If not maybe the 9th Div one will have something?. One thing I know for sure, thats it's not always black and white in this game. The bloke who owned this jacket may have transfered from an administative unit, but he could still pass the tests to gain entry, and the para's needed admin staff as well. When this man came to the unit he may have aquired himself a battle dress jacket, to be like the other blokes.When they were no longer standard issue he probably threw it in the foot locker and never used it again?. He could have applied the ribbons anytime. Anyway if anybody is willing to lay it on the line, and tell me that the insignia on this jacket is fake, I may be convinced?.
Regards Bruce

[Lone Pine]

Some great stuff in this thread!

Gyday Steve
Yes there is some great stuff, also riveting discussion too, as you can see. I hope this thread keeps powering on.

[Mark S.]

My only contribution:

Name
BULLIVANT, JAMES MUIR 
Service
Australian Army 
Service Number
NX97645 
Date of Birth
4 Sep 1912
Place of Birth
MANLY, NSW 
Date of Enlistment
5 Aug 1942 
Locality on Enlistment
COWRA, NSW 
Place of Enlistment
PADDINGTON, NSW 
Next of Kin
BULLIVANT, DOREEN 
Date of Discharge
18 Jan 1946
Rank
Corporal 
Posting at Discharge
2/6 AUST FLD REGT RAA 

[Lone Pine]

Nice set Mark, good to see our US friends collecting Aussie gear.
Bruce

[paul.j]

b/dress

I could not state for certain they are fake as I do not know exactly how many manufacturers made them however they are nothing like the ones I have seen.
B/dress was the uniform issued to paras for that short period.The unit was large enough by Oct43 and had BHQ,A,B and C coy's as an established strength.Approval for the insignia and maroon beret came in Sep 43 and photos show it being worn within a month so they did not waste any time like they do now.
No problems with the miniatures from that unit as transfers came from everywhere and the "tests" were being under 85 kg and having your original teeth.
However i would not trust a piece that has ribbons from the end of the war on a piece of uniform that was discarded a long time prior.There may have been a carry over into 44 of b/dress but by 45 it would have been long gone.It is your collection and if you are happy wth it then knock yourself out but I think there will be problems in the future with trying to sell it.
Cheers,
Paul

[Lone Pine]

I could not state for certain they are fake as I do not know exactly how many manufacturers made them however they are nothing like the ones I have seen.
B/dress was the uniform issued to paras for that short period.The unit was large enough by Oct43 and had BHQ,A,B and C coy's as an established strength.Approval for the insignia and maroon beret came in Sep 43 and photos show it being worn within a month so they did not waste any time like they do now.
No problems with the miniatures from that unit as transfers came from everywhere and the "tests" were being under 85 kg and having your original teeth.
However i would not trust a piece that has ribbons from the end of the war on a piece of uniform that was discarded a long time prior.There may have been a carry over into 44 of b/dress but by 45 it would have been long gone.It is your collection and if you are happy wth it then knock yourself out but I think there will be problems in the future with trying to sell it.
Cheers,
Paul

Thanks Paul.
I personally have not eyeballed any of these patches before, but a friend of mine who has had 3 or 4 sets of these patches go through his hands over the last 20 years, and has personally handled the jacket in question, swears thar they are original. I did a close examination of the jacket last night and descovered a pin that was used to hold the stripes in place for sewing, left inside the sleeve. It has slight rust stains on it that would suggest it has been there for a long time and would also suggest that the jacket was not worn very much, if at all. I am pretty confident that this jacket is ok, and am happy to have in my collection. It will be with me for a very long time. The talk I had with the veteran was very interesting, I will be keeping in touch with him to suck him dry for info. He said he was very impressed with the U.S para helmets they were issued with.
Regards Bruce

[paul.j]

b/dress

You are lucky having a vet to tak to from this unit-they are very scarce now.Do you know the so called grenade pouches that were suppossed to have been made for paras?If you get the chance can you ask him if he has knowledge of them?
Interesting about the US helmet,photos are hard to come by and I have only seen one example of a US hemet being worn.
While we are on the subject I will have to see if I can post some pics of my beret.They are a tough item to come by and it took me a while to get this one.
Paul

[NickG]

Nice thread guys!
Here's my modest contribution...
My one and only "digger" impression! A jungle set up!

[NickG]

The pants...
It was explained to me that the shorts are a different shade of green because these were khaki-tan desert kit...
later dyed green for Pacific (jungle) use...

[NickG]

The Aussi jungle beret, 1944 dated (not a very popular item)

[paul.j]

Para beret and the owners details:

<TABLE class=nristabletextborder cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" align=center summary="A table providing service record information for a WW2 veteran." border=0><TBODY><TR><TH class=nristablerow align=left width="40%">Name</TH><TD class=nristablerow width="60%">CUNNINGHAM, JOHN DANIEL </TD></TR><TR><TH class=nristablerow align=left>Service</TH><TD class=nristablerow>Australian Army </TD></TR><TR><TH class=nristablerow align=left>Service Number</TH><TD class=nristablerow>NX78583 </TD></TR><TR><TH class=nristablerow align=left>Date of Birth</TH><TD class=nristablerow>14 Jun 1920</TD></TR><TR><TH class=nristablerow align=left>Place of Birth</TH><TD class=nristablerow>LAKEMBA, NSW </TD></TR><TR><TH class=nristablerow align=left>Date of Enlistment</TH><TD class=nristablerow>15 Dec 1941 </TD></TR><TR><TH class=nristablerow align=left>Locality on Enlistment</TH><TD class=nristablerow>LAKEMBA, NSW </TD></TR><TR><TH class=nristablerow align=left>Place of Enlistment</TH><TD class=nristablerow>PADDINGTON, NSW </TD></TR><TR><TH class=nristablerow align=left>Next of Kin</TH><TD class=nristablerow>CUNNINGHAM, PATRICK </TD></TR><TR><TH class=nristablerow align=left>Date of Discharge</TH><TD class=nristablerow>20 May 1946</TD></TR><TR><TH class=nristablerow align=left>Rank</TH><TD class=nristablerow>Private </TD></TR><TR><TH class=nristablerow align=left>Posting at Discharge</TH><TD class=nristablerow>1 Australian Parachute Battalion </TD></TR><TR><TH class=nristablerow align=left>WW2 Honours and Gallantry</TH><TD class=nristablerow>None for display</TD></TR><TR><TH class=nristablerow align=left>Prisoner of War</TH><TD class=nristablerow>No </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

[chippler]

that's a cracking beret, Paul!

- Chris

[Lone Pine]

Very nice stuff, love the para beret, I want one. Is this the grenade pouches you were talking about Paul?. These were used by all speacial forces I'm told including paras.