TELLING THE TROOPS

New Zealand Listener, Volume 1, Issue 16, 13 October 1939, Page 23

TELLING THE TROOPS

How Dress Distinguishes The Various Units

IME was when khaki in the streets only represented a soldier. Now it represents the nation’s biggest industry, and it’s right on top of column one. It is a highly organised. industry, with half a dozen people behind each front line man; feeding him, arming him, supporting him, directing him, clothing him. There are wheels within wheels, units within units. How is it possible to tell them apart? The Listener put this question to an officer in the Army Department this week, and with his patient assistance secured a summary of the dress regulations to help plain people know what they’re looking at when they see a uniform. : MOUNTED UNITS wear: A jacket, medal’ ribbons, pantaloons, puttees, felt hat with. puggaree, black boots, spurs, bandolier. MOUNTED RIFLES wear: A felt hat creased down the middle from front to back. (The felt hat of all other units is peaked at the crown with four dents. All hats in New Zealand have horizontal brims.) DISMOUNTED UNITS wear: Jacket, medal ribbons, trousers, puttees, felt hat ‘and puggaree, black boots. VEHICLE DRIVERS attached to dismounted units wear: Fore and aft khaki ‘cap, like a Glengarry, khaki overalls. MOTOR-CYCLISTS attached to infantry regiments may be recognised by their black berets, black knee boots and black leather gauntlets. MOTOR-CYCLISTS attached to other units wear a khaki beret. The quickest way to pick out a man’s unit is with a glance at his puggaree, or hat band. The colours are:Permanent Staff: Scarlet.

Mounted Rifles: Khaki-green-khaki, Artillery: Blue-red-blue. Engineers: Khaki-dark blue-khaki. Corps of Signallers: Khaki-white-light blue-khaki. Infantry: Khaki-red-khaki. Army Service Corps: Khaki-white-khaki. Medical Corps: Khaki-dull cherry khaki. Ordnance: Red-blue-red. Chaplain: Black-khaki-black. The abbreviations used for the shoulder titles (brass letters on shoulder ‘straps of jackets and great coats) are:N.Z.M.R.: Mounted Rifles. N.Z.A.: Artillery. N.Z.E.: Engineers. N.Z.C.S.: Corps of Signallers. N.Z.R.: Infantry Regiments. N.Z.A.S.C.: Army Service Corps. N.Z.M.C.: Medical Corps. Puggarees and shoulder titles are the easiest means of identification of the three main units first mentioned and their components, but the expert also has an eye for the scores of different corps and regimental badges worn on hats and collar bands. Artillery, for instance, have a representation of a gun on the hat badge and grenades on the collar badge; but in the case of infantry regiments each unit has its own special regimental design. Thus, the badge of the First Battalion of the Wellington Regiment is designed from the crest of the Duke of Wellington. There are hundreds of different badges, as collectors in the last war discovered. Chaplains may be distinguished by the black metal buttons and badges of rank, Their uniform is otherwise identical with that of the unit to which they are attached except that the puggaree is black-khaki-black, ‘and they may wear either khaki collar and tie or white collar with the black clergyman’s stock, as they prefer.