Thought I would share some pictures of the couple of WW2 Canadian tunics I have in my collection.
The first is an unissued P37 tunic (size 13, Hyde Park Clothes, Ltd. Montreal, 1943). I have badged it up with WW2 original PPCLI shoulder titles, 1st Canadian Infantry Division formation patches, and sergeant chevrons. It did not originally come with the badges, but I think that it displays quite well as such and is very representative of a BD blouse as it would have been worn circa 1943. I chose to badge it up as a PPCLI tunic as I wanted to pay tribute to one of the Manitoba Regiments, and also because I wanted a Regiment that participated in the Italian Campaign (an area of personal interest when it comes to WW2 History).
The second tunic is a 100% authentic RCAF Service Dress tunic from Simpson of Picadilly. This one is special in that it belonged to DFC winner P/O W. J. Ritchie:
RITCHIE, P/O William (J92262) - Distinguished Flying Cross - No.419 Squadron - Award effective 5 July 1945 as per London Gazette dated 20 July 1945 and AFRO 1619/45 dated 19 October 1945. Born 17 August 1918 at Saltcoats, Saskatchewan; home in Biedenbury, Saskatchewan (farmer); enlisted in Regina, 4 June 1942. Trained at No.7 ITS (graduated 4 March 1943), No.2 BGS (graduated 26 June 1943) and No.7 AOS (graduated 6 August 1943 and promoted Sergeant). To "Y" Depot, 20 August 1943; to UK, 25 August 1943. Commissioned 28 November 1944. Repatriated 31 March 1945; released 2 June 1945. Award sent by registered mail, 27 November 1950. Recommended 24 February 1945 when he had flown 30 sorties (176 hours 15 minutes), 18 July 1944 to 17 January 1945. DHist file 181.009 D.1941 (RG.24 Vol.20612) has recommendation. Bottrop attack was 27 September 1944.
This officer has completed a large number of operational missions. His work has always been of a very high standard and his reliability has been a source of confidence to the other members of his crew. On his first sortie to Wesseling, Pilot Officer Ritchie pressed home his attack and bombed the target despite the attacks of a Junkers 88 and heavy anti-aircraft fire. On another occasion he attacked Bottrop in daylight in the face of heavy ground defences although his aircraft had been damaged. He has at all times shown outstanding enthusiasm for operations.
It was missing the Operations badge when I purchased it, but the holes were clearly present in the tunic. I replaced it with an Ops wing already in my possession.
I had to do a bit of research to determine the provenance of this tunic. It is clearly marked "W. Ritchie" inside and it did come with the holes for the Ops wing. My research turned up two different W. Ritchie's who served with the RCAF in WW2. One was a Hurricane pilot who did not achieve officer status until his return to Canada. The other was a Lancaster pilot (rank of P/O) who flew 30 sorties and won the DFC. The fact that this tunic has the holes where the Ops badge would have been worn suggests that this belongs to William Ritchie the bomber pilot. Furthermore, this officer's tunic was made in London. The first W. Ritchie did not become an officer until his return to Canada, so it is unlikely he would have purchased an officer's tunic in London.
I bought the tunic without knowing any of its history, other than the name written on the inside. On a whim, I decided to try to research the name and I was pleasantly surprised by what I was able to find out. I think it is much more interesting to have in my collection an article not only with some provenance, but with some local history as well - P/O Ritchie lived in Virden, MB which is not far from my hometown. This one is definitely a keeper!
The first is an unissued P37 tunic (size 13, Hyde Park Clothes, Ltd. Montreal, 1943). I have badged it up with WW2 original PPCLI shoulder titles, 1st Canadian Infantry Division formation patches, and sergeant chevrons. It did not originally come with the badges, but I think that it displays quite well as such and is very representative of a BD blouse as it would have been worn circa 1943. I chose to badge it up as a PPCLI tunic as I wanted to pay tribute to one of the Manitoba Regiments, and also because I wanted a Regiment that participated in the Italian Campaign (an area of personal interest when it comes to WW2 History).
The second tunic is a 100% authentic RCAF Service Dress tunic from Simpson of Picadilly. This one is special in that it belonged to DFC winner P/O W. J. Ritchie:
RITCHIE, P/O William (J92262) - Distinguished Flying Cross - No.419 Squadron - Award effective 5 July 1945 as per London Gazette dated 20 July 1945 and AFRO 1619/45 dated 19 October 1945. Born 17 August 1918 at Saltcoats, Saskatchewan; home in Biedenbury, Saskatchewan (farmer); enlisted in Regina, 4 June 1942. Trained at No.7 ITS (graduated 4 March 1943), No.2 BGS (graduated 26 June 1943) and No.7 AOS (graduated 6 August 1943 and promoted Sergeant). To "Y" Depot, 20 August 1943; to UK, 25 August 1943. Commissioned 28 November 1944. Repatriated 31 March 1945; released 2 June 1945. Award sent by registered mail, 27 November 1950. Recommended 24 February 1945 when he had flown 30 sorties (176 hours 15 minutes), 18 July 1944 to 17 January 1945. DHist file 181.009 D.1941 (RG.24 Vol.20612) has recommendation. Bottrop attack was 27 September 1944.
This officer has completed a large number of operational missions. His work has always been of a very high standard and his reliability has been a source of confidence to the other members of his crew. On his first sortie to Wesseling, Pilot Officer Ritchie pressed home his attack and bombed the target despite the attacks of a Junkers 88 and heavy anti-aircraft fire. On another occasion he attacked Bottrop in daylight in the face of heavy ground defences although his aircraft had been damaged. He has at all times shown outstanding enthusiasm for operations.
It was missing the Operations badge when I purchased it, but the holes were clearly present in the tunic. I replaced it with an Ops wing already in my possession.
I had to do a bit of research to determine the provenance of this tunic. It is clearly marked "W. Ritchie" inside and it did come with the holes for the Ops wing. My research turned up two different W. Ritchie's who served with the RCAF in WW2. One was a Hurricane pilot who did not achieve officer status until his return to Canada. The other was a Lancaster pilot (rank of P/O) who flew 30 sorties and won the DFC. The fact that this tunic has the holes where the Ops badge would have been worn suggests that this belongs to William Ritchie the bomber pilot. Furthermore, this officer's tunic was made in London. The first W. Ritchie did not become an officer until his return to Canada, so it is unlikely he would have purchased an officer's tunic in London.
I bought the tunic without knowing any of its history, other than the name written on the inside. On a whim, I decided to try to research the name and I was pleasantly surprised by what I was able to find out. I think it is much more interesting to have in my collection an article not only with some provenance, but with some local history as well - P/O Ritchie lived in Virden, MB which is not far from my hometown. This one is definitely a keeper!
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