Code: 55883
An incredible early war Home Guard denim battledress jacket, clearly dated March 1940.
The Home Guard was initially formed as the Local Defence Volunteers, or LDV, on the 14th of May 1940. It was renamed 'Home Guard' in July 1940 and remained active until late 1944. This jacket dates from the early days of the Home Guard making it particularly rare. Following the withdrawal from Dunkirk in May 1940 there was a massive lack of uniform and equipment in the UK as much of it had been left in France. What there was got sent to front line units which led to the denim battledress jackets and trousers being issued to the Home Guard as a stop-gap before they could produce enough of the standard wool battledress uniforms to supply them with. Denim was only worn by the Home Guard during this early part of the war and this jacket undoubtedly dates from this period.
The jacket itself is a standard first pattern denim blouse which features pleated breast pockets. All of the buttons are the correct flat pattern green examples used in the early part of WW2 and the waist buckle is again the correct early wire type. The sleeves of the jacket are fitted with Home Guard shoulder titles to the top of each sleeve below which are the area titles which read BRX 6 which denotes the 6th Berkshire (Bracknell) Battalion. There is evidence on the right sleeve of where an armband was previously tacked on which is a typical early war feature. This would have most likely read 'Home Guard'.
Inside the jacket the original label is still present and is bright and legible. It bears the title of 'Overalls Blouse, Denim No. 2' along with the size of 4. The date of March 1940 is present which ties in perfectly with the period in which these jackets were being issued to the Home Guard. The maker's name of ;Lewis Bros' is also present as is the War Department broad arrow marking. There is also a War Department acceptance stamp inside the trousers which is surmounted by the letter 'Q' which denotes the year of issue as 1940.
The jacket is in good condition and it displays very well. There are some signs of wear and use which are consistent across all elements of the jacket including the badges.Overall it displays very well indeed but please take time to study the pictures before purchasing and bear in mind that this is a vintage, pre-worn workwear jacket which may have small flaws commensurate with age.
A very hard to find early Home Guard jacket which is a textbook example and would be hard to improve on. This would make a great addition to any Home Guard or Home Front collection!
