Indian Made BD?

[Nick B]

Hi

I picked this BD up in a local second hand store, I always wondered what country made it untill I found this thread that Adrian had kindly posted lots of buttons and the countrys linked to them.

http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...hlight=buttons

The BD is stamps RR Broadarrow, It's got a makers name of Auton Reed and a faint date of 1941.

So is it Indian made?

[Nick B]

Overall

[Nick B]

shoulder strap button.

[Nick B]

Buttons.

[Adrian Stevenson]

Hi Nick, I cannot recall seeing a broadarrow RR stamp before? This has got me thinking.

The blouse looks Indian made to me, given the buttons and KD lining.

Cheers, Ade.

[Gary Cain]

I just went through Skennertons book on the Broad Arrow and it is not listed. Of course the book has an emphasis on firearms but it does have loads of other info as well.

Gary

[paulbear]

THOSE buttons not seen before Indian made probably correct IMO, but so much private contract stuff was being made in Britain for the foreign armies you never know


paul

[nbroadarrowz]

Dear Nick,
The battle dress blouse might be South African.
I don't think India had the woollen mills to produce and manufacture BD.
The NZers forght along side the South Africans in the Desert during opperation
Cursader in late 1941.
I have seen another SA BD blouse that was acquired from a second hand clothing shop in ChCh.
Barry

[Gary Jucha]

Auton Reed

Just did a basic search using " Auton Reed" (As per the label in the BD), and even though nothing direct came up, it seems that these names have loose connections to NZ and OZ, ... so the BD might be "Southern Hemisphere" rather than Indian ..

Gary J.

[Nick B]

Thanks for all the replys, I have never come across RR before either and no books I have cover it,

I have never seen the lining material before used in a BD, And the wool feels very soft.
It doesn't really match my other BD's in that regards (I've got Aussie, Kiwi, Canadian and British made BD's), They all seem to have Drill Cotton for the lining.

Isn't South African meant to be a broadarrow in a U? But then again India is meant to be a Broadarrow with an I.

One thing I am not 100% sure on is that some countrys have or use more than one mark, In the middle of the picture here you can see the D^D and then another mark and these were on the same pair of Aussie boots. http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...8&postcount=14

Barry do you know what the lining material was made off?

Gary I did the same thing when I first got the Jacket but had no luck at all.


Cheers

Nick

[Adrian Stevenson]

Hi Barry, BD was made in India during WW2. Here is the markings found in a blouse from my collection

Hi Guys, this is an interesting thread. I think we are on the right track with Far East / Southern Hemisphere. I did a search on the name first too

Cheers, Ade.

[nbroadarrowz]

Adrian,
Thanks for that. It is always good to see new things.
New Zealand manufactured and suplied 84,000 BD blouses and trouser to India. As well as 22,000 (odd) to the Eastern Group Supply council based in India. It is possible that they supplied worsted fabrics as well. Althought my list only says khaki cotton and grey cloth fabrics.

My view is that the Blouse in question is South African.
Barry

[Nick B]

Does anyone have a South African BD they can show the lining material and the buttons of?

Going by what I have seen it’s pretty close to Adrian’s Indian one.

I have never seen a South African one and no books I have cover the Indian or South African BDs.

Cheers
Nick

[NickG]

Could it be from Rhodesia? (another commonwealth country) What did Rhodesia's broad arrow markings look like I wonder? Just a thought! Nick

[nbroadarrowz]

Adrian,
Does your BD blouse with the Indian stamp have a size label like Nick's BD?
Have you seen any Indian made clothing with this type of label?

To all,
I firmly believe that India and Indian made garments are a very important part of the WW2 Commonwealth military supply line. Although the quality seams to be lesser, I rate all Indian made garments very highly. I have a quantity of Indian made items in my collection. During WW2 NZ was supplied through British supply lines mainly with Indian made garments (except Boots and BD suits).

Does anyone know any Indian militaria collectors? as this subject seams over looked.

Barry