Thread for Cold War British militaria?

[yossarianlives]

Or is it just WW2 (and WW1?) period here?

[byterock]

No discrimination here we take all sorts.

Basically anything commonwealth UK, Kunuck, Oz, Kiwi, etc

[Ralph P]

I would be interested to see or read what you have from the Cold War.

[yossarianlives]

byterock - good to hear

Ralph - I have a fair-sized collection of British post-war kit (as well as quite a bit of Brit WW2 kit) - this centres around webbing equipments - i.e. '37, '44, '58, PLCE belt kit and subsequent chest rig and vests, current modular vest, of which I have full sets (other than '44 patt) and ancillary items (packs, holster rigs etc). Also NBC gear and some inert grens etc. I am currently putting together a Falklands War impression although I always get distracted when I see something else of interest on ebay

[GHarvey]

I'm quite mad for cold war stuff at the mo.








My set of 60 pattern




This is one of the lads in our groups (well its his dads but you know what I mean)

[yossarianlives]

those are the kind of impressions I'm looking to make up

[GHarvey]

Do it now while it's still dirt cheap.

Got my 60 pattern for £10 for the suit from langtons in Sheffield. Got my 68 pattern from there too actually for only slightly more.

The shirt, smock and beret are my own from my days as a tom.

Sabre sales in portsmouth sorted the full set of webbing out for £10 and £3 for the puttees.

MKV lid was a fiver at a militaria fayre and DMS boots were a tenner off ebay!

Rifles mine but the sterling was actually a hand made replica made by a chap in my group! I think it's got a few real parts like the stock but the majority was made in a workshop by hand. We do have another de-ac sterling in the group now though.

[GHarvey]

I'm currently trying to piece together Malaya kit but it's like hens teeth in my size.

Sorted a mint pair of 50s jungle boots for £12 from Sabre again and I've got some repro JGs but 44 pattern webbing prices are getting silly at the moment so i've just got a belt at the mo.

[Ralph P]

Sorry for my delay for responding back to you. Do you have things in your collection when the British were station in Germany?

byterock - good to hear

Ralph - I have a fair-sized collection of British post-war kit (as well as quite a bit of Brit WW2 kit) - this centres around webbing equipments - i.e. '37, '44, '58, PLCE belt kit and subsequent chest rig and vests, current modular vest, of which I have full sets (other than '44 patt) and ancillary items (packs, holster rigs etc). Also NBC gear and some inert grens etc. I am currently putting together a Falklands War impression although I always get distracted when I see something else of interest on ebay

[Marc Sherriff]

Sorry for my delay for responding back to you. Do you have things in your collection when the British were station in Germany?

Ralph,

So far most of the items in the above images could have been worn while Serving in Germany.

Marc

[Ralph P]

Marc - Thanks much for your response.

Ralph,

So far most of the items in the above images could have been worn while Serving in Germany.

Marc

[GHarvey]

My impression is generally based on an 1982 -85 'Op Corporate' or BAOR look.

I try and avoid the 1985/86 transitional items like Boots High Leg and the ballistic nylon MK6 (i own both but having worn them during my own service they are of little interest - in fact brit kit post 1991 interests me very little as it was 'work clothes')

You start to see the more modern stuff bing used on exercises like Bold Guard where some units would be wearing MKV helmets and other in the new MK6around 1985/86.

Similarly SA80 (L85a1) and the LSW went out on trials to a few battalions around 1987 IIRC.

A few more pics, all cold war:

1960 pattern






Northen Ireland Internal Security


BAOR


Transitional period circa 86


Jumper order combats (my prefered daily duties wear)

[GHarvey]

BTW the 'army of occupation' became the British Army of the Rhine in 1948 and continued to be so until 1994 when it became British Forces Germany.

I'm sure it stayed that way bein greatly reduced by 'options for change/suicide' until 1998.

I had mates still posed in germany when I left in 2000.

But if you want the classic Cold War look across the majority of the army i'd look at 1985. It's before all the 'modern plastics' come in and its a fairly consistant look between 1968 and 1985!

Boots DMS, puttees, 68 pattern combats, 58 pattern webbing, MKV lid, wooly pulleys and SLR, GPMG and SMG!

[Ralph P]

Thanks for the information in your post.

BTW the 'army of occupation' became the British Army of the Rhine in 1948 and continued to be so until 1994 when it became British Forces Germany.

I'm sure it stayed that way bein greatly reduced by 'options for change/suicide' until 1998.

I had mates still posed in germany when I left in 2000.

But if you want the classic Cold War look across the majority of the army i'd look at 1985. It's before all the 'modern plastics' come in and its a fairly consistant look between 1968 and 1985!

Boots DMS, puttees, 68 pattern combats, 58 pattern webbing, MKV lid, wooly pulleys and SLR, GPMG and SMG!

[GHarvey]

And lastly most of what I;m wearing here was 1980s issue kit.



The rife is an L85a1 which as said started filteing in to some units but some formations were still getting SLR issued to the mid 90s.

Cap is a modified DPM crap hat, sas pattern smock and tropical pattern combat trousers (before the lightweight soldier 95 cam out it was a much quicker drying alternative to the standard trouser but a bit 'bright' until it got wet)