"You know, the things we used to wear in England."
The first thing you notice about them is their clothes. In no way are they wearing standard Army Issue! James explains, 'Long before the Eighth Army came into official existence, the men of the Army of the Nile and of Western Desert Force had achieved a reputation for a certain eccentricity of dress. The reason for the appearance of suede boots, silk scarves, corduroy trousers, sheepskin coats and shaggy pullovers was never merely the desire to be different, or to assume the distinctive clothing that would mark the wearer as a desert soldier.' In fact, the reasons were purely practical, to help them cope with conditions not imagined by the designers of 'War Office Sealed patterns'
NigG (revisting your #272),
... I doubt there are many F/Os who would relish being told-off in front of their subordinates, especially in that manner...
True. Best general rule: admonish a subordinate in private, compliment him in public. Not always possible in practice.
Picture No.1 : The aircraft behind them is, of course, a Blenheim IV. But "Caliph of Baghdad" (?) Have seen a lot of "nose art" in my time, most of it of a more "earthy" nature than this ! The "Varga" long-stemmed beauties ("Saturday Evening Post") were favourites, as on our side was "Jane" (Daily Mirror).
I believe the desert gets quite chilly at times, otherwise your three chaps might have been too warm. Skipper (on left) recalls Jon's "Two Types" (see - hopefully - sketch above). The other two have KD tunics (not much work done on buttons !) with shirt, collar and tie (Nav ?) or open shirt (AG).
Far too warm for India/Burma (except in winter, up on the NW Frontier). We would be wearing khaki cellular (much lighter and cooler than 'drill') open shirt or bush jacket. Nothing underneath. Shorts much cooler than trousers. (Note bomb doors partly open, to relieve hydraulic pressure in system after shutdown, we did the same).
Danny.