1937 denim Battle Dress Jacket

1937 Pattern Denim Battle Dress Jacket by Kay Canvas

This Denim B.D. jacket has been made like the originals using the correct coarse weave of denim fabric which has a green/white fleck mixed together rather than vat dyed to olive green, this can been seen more clearly when you see the inside which is an off white. To finish this suit of Kay Canvas have used original vegetable fat buttons.

Denim clothing was originally designed as work wear and was worn as a two piece outfit over the normal wool B.D. to keep it clean when doing dirty work. denim B.D. had removable buttons, buckles and no permanent badges so could be cleaned easily could be cleaned easily .

Denim battledress was issued to the L.D.V. when they were formed in 1940 as no other uniforms were available in quantity until they could produce wool B.D. latter in the war. The L.D.V. worn an arm band on the Denim but  latter on the name was changed by Winston Churchill to the Home Guard and then besides an arm band Home Guard titles and District numbers were sewn onto the clothing.

 Denim B.D. was also to be  found popular with soldiers fighting in Italy, 1943 and later in Northwest Europe were denim was more comfortable than Wool.