Kaiser's Bunker new on-line guide to CEF clothing is finally completed

[Tony & Kaiser]

Well, here it is. A month of work, countless hours, nights and weekends of
taking and editing photos and writing the html to complete it.

Nine full pages of information, over 120 all new high quality, clear, large
photos and scans. Here is the index page.

Time for a glass of wine............. T




<img src="http://www.kaisersbunker.com/cef/tunics/ceft04.jpg">

[Greg Kubasek]

Awesome, thanks Tony. I'ts going to take some time to go through it all

[Gary Cain]

Fantastic job Kaiser Be sure to give Tony a bone


Gary

[Tony & Kaiser]

Fantastic job Kaiser. Be sure to give Tony a bone

I'd much prefer a cookie ahh..thank you.

[Gary Jucha]

Nice job

Nice job Kaiser .. well done ...

.. The site is clean and precise ..

.. Now take Tony for an extra long deserved dash .. !!

Gary J.

[byterock]

Lovely site but no head-dress. Love to hear about the Canadian field-cap. and how the Australians stole our hat.

[regular122]

Tony,

Simply first-rate. The mix of photos and actual uniforms is perfect. Your site no doubt will become the standard for quick research on the Canadian First War tunics. Not to mention all of the great stuff you have on so many topics already.

Here is a pic of my uncle Frank Chamberlain wearing the 5-button tunic. It is in rough shape but it is all we got of him in uniform. He enlisted as an American volunteer from Norfolk, Nebraska and was killed in the battle of Cambrai at Tilloy in October, 1918. He is buried in Etaples, France. Here are more pics of him and some artifacts taken from him when he was killed and sent to my great grandfather.

http://www.vac-acc.gc.ca/remembers/s...asualty=497039

I know this must have taken countless hours and many days to complete and I for one really appreciate your efforts that help keep the memory of these men alive. Steve

[Tony & Kaiser]

no head-dress. Love to hear about the Canadian field-cap. and how the Australians stole our hat.

Oops! That is fixed. I forgot to upload the new index page. A complete page on the CEF headgear is now on there. What did you mean about the Aussies stealing our hats? First they have Christmas on the beach......now our hats......

LINK>> http://www.kaisersbunker.com/ceftp/

[byterock]

What did you mean about the Aussies stealing our hats? First they have Christmas on the beach......now our hats......

LINK>> http://www.kaisersbunker.com/ceftp/

The slouch hat was first worn by the Canadian horse (forget which one) during the Boar war and it became quite the Canadian hat. However I guess it was too Colonial looking so it was dropped and we got the more proper field cap.

Or at least that is my theory.

Would be neat to look into though

Off to you site now

[chippler]

The slouch hat was first worn by the Canadian horse (forget which one) during the Boar war and it became quite the Canadian hat...

The first instance a slouch hat was used in Australia as a part of a military uniform was in 1885. Colonel Tom Price introduced the slouch hat for the newly formed Victoria Mounted Rifles (VMR.) This predates the Boer war by 14 years.

We in fact stole the idea from the British, who first used them in 1600's.

- Chris

[Greg B]

Absolutely agree Chris, even us Kiwi's had slouch hats pre- Boar war unfortunately somebody..probably our English generals in WW1 thought we might look smarter in the lemon Squeezers I guess they thought it might distinguish us from the Aussies ...How wrong they were IMO.

Interesting that the Lemon Squeeser was ..and correct me if I'm wrong derived from the Canadian Mounty hat. I guess at the end of the day we were all collonials looking to stamp our own separate Identity between our selfs and the Pomms.

Just my 2 cents

Greg

[BrentNunns]

A Quick NZ Lemon Squeezer History Lesson.
NZ adopted the bush hat (BH) as did the Aussies in the late 1800s, its popularity grew during and after the Boer War. In 1911 Brigadier-General Sir Herbert Hart introduced the Lemon Squeezer (LS) to be trialed by some Wellington Regiments, He was looking for a smarter look and got the idea from the South African Constabulary during the Boer War. Who inturn had taken it from the Canadian Mounties. At the outbreak of war in 1914 all the Wellington Regiments formed up together, the commanding officer Colonel Malone (Chunuk Bair fame) was concerned about the difference of both BH and LS being worn on parade. He choose the LS to be the standard headwear of the Wellingtons as it did not collect water, as the BH did with its crease on top. When all the Battalions came together in Egypt the same problem of mixed hats stood out when paraded together. It wasnt untill the NZ Army arrived in France that uniformity of the Lemon Squeezer was achieved among the troops.
A super site Kaiser, well done.

[JHoll72]

Tony,
Thanks for all your hard work and dedication to make an amazing site! It truly must be a labour of love.
Regards,
Jeff

[Adam H]

Outstanding work Tony! I'm really enjoying reading through it.

Going to have to check a couple details concerning highland kit in my notes...

I have some original photos you may find helpful of some other items... I know I have one of the CEF Fur hat...a group photo depicting both officers' and other ranks versions.

Let me have a dig through and I'll be happy to let you know what I have that may be of use.

Cheers,

Adam