Smudge,
In India and Burma during the war, it was quite simple. By day you wore khaki cellular shirt or bush jacket and KD shorts, khaki woolen long socks and (according to taste),
chaplis ("Jesus sandals") or sambhur skin "desert boots".*
Dusk-dawn it was bushjacket or long-sleeved shirt, KD slacks and desert boots. No underwear at any time (it would only give you "
dhobi-rash"), and we had no civilian clothes.
* With thick sponge rubber soles (to insulate you from the hot ground) - colloquially "brothel creepers".
On the very, very rare parade, you wore KD tunic, with cellular shirt and black tie, and KD shorts or slacks and your black issue shoes (dredged from the bottom of your kitbag or tin box, and usually green with mould). As this was horribly hot, people only wore it if ordered. The tunic was the only thing that had brass buttons, but these were not sewn on, but the loop went through little "button holes", and was secured by brass split pins. This, of course, was to enable it to be "dhobied" after each wearing, as it (and everything else) would be soaked in sweat in the hot months.
On ops, it was a case of individual choice (cf my p.137 #2726 "The Well Dressed Danny"). You flew in your ordinary KD, with cloth helmet.
At the very end, the colour changed to Jungle Green - "bottle green battle-dress" (or "battle-green bottle dress !"), but I never bought any of that (all your drill and cellular cloth you bought, dirt cheap, from Stores or the "Officers' Shop"). A
dherzi would run it up to measure for a rupee or so.
On your head, you wore your Cap SD, or the Aussie Bush Hat (never a "Bombay Bowler", although we were issued with them).
Danny.
