Yeah. Hot is hot is hot. For a brief period I did American Civil War reenacting and those blue woolens got awfully warm in July for the Gettysburg thing.
To be fair I also got very hot even wearing light weight jungle fatigues whilst under going Jungle Warfare training in Panama.
Hot is hot.
J
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Hereâs a pic from the movie âThe Third Manâ
Great movie
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As I recently promoted Warrant Officer, I happened to attend a model show some time ago - c.1989, and encountered a few re-enactors there; they were extremely scruffy and I identified the one posing as a Sergeant (they were in WW2 Battledress etc) and advised him that if he was going to represent the British Army, albeit historically, the least he could do was to lose a few pounds, get his hair cut, iron the bloody uniform, polish his boots and lace the damn things correctly, Blanco his webbing and so on. To his credit he agreed that he should have bothered more and promised to try and do better. To be honest he should have punched me and told me where to go, but such was my zeal back then.
I realise that this says more about me than the hapless re-enactors(!)
And so you should! If they want to do the job they should do it properly. A good dressing-down is the least they deserved.
Some of the ânaziâ dress-up folk Iâve seen would be shot on sight by the real thing for being so untidy - their side didnât take as kindly to slovenliness as we would⌠
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Just to be clear. The assault jerkin was not leather but rather a thick cotton duck. Not to be confused with the regular leather jerkin worn by all and sundry right till warsâ end. And sometimes afterwards as well.
J
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Looking good Jerry, looking good. This versatile piece of kit - despite the heat issues - was apparently designed to carry all sorts of equipment and weaponry, including a 2" Mortar stuffed into one of the jerkinâs âsleevesâ. I mean, in addition to all the other stuff, a 2" Mortar?
Not for the faint-hearted.
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That would easily fit on the other side of the small pack pouch. The side there has a large sleeve at the bottom and a web strap at top with a slide fastener. The 2-incher was not all that big either. I actually plan to have this chap carrying an ammo case for the 2 incher.
No, sure Jerry; I suppose the point is that this peice of kit, despite its ultimate shortcomings was an honest attempt to design something different that was adaptable to the mission loads required. Given that several iterations of this - albeit in more modern fabrics etc - have been seen across the intervening decades, must surely prove the imaginative criteria behind the design of the Battle Jerkin.
As for the 2" Mortar; well, Iâve carried and fired the beast - or its more modern derivative in Kenya on exercise in roughly 1974 - and I for one wouldnât wish to have to carry it for too long thatâs for sure. There again, I was a pretty lightweight specimen in any case(!)
Isnât that how it works in most armies? Give the new guy, who is usually smaller, the heaviest weapon on the squad? I was 18, 5â7â ~155 lbs and assigned a .45 pistol and M60 machine gunâŚ
Yeah, thatâs for sure; we were shiny-arsed Clerks so the exercise could not have been devised better if one desired to inflict retribution on such a breed. Funnily enough, we didnât acquit ourselves that badly, given that we hardly had a tactical bone in our collective body.
The night navigation exercise amidst what seemed like ever closer roars (ie lions) was a different matter. As they say, adrenalin is often coloured brown.
Talking of authenticity who can forget the most outstanding battlefield re-enactment ever?
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The purses are actually period gear âŚ
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Useful weathering tips too.
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The Japanese in the reenactment seem a little to tall though âŚ
So - assigned both the lightest AND the heaviest weapon at the same time? They sure knew how to haze the new guy! 
78 years ago today Operation Martlet was launched by Gen Montgomery to secure the high ground around Raurey. This would protect the western flank of the following daysâ bigger offensive, Operation Epsom.
Here troops clear the artillery blasted park of the Chateux Boislond, a hard fought over area north of Fonteney.
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Peerless Jerry, simply peerless.
I like the burning shell blasted trees background. Simple and effective for conveying the atmosphere of the moment.
@barkingdigger, yeah that was standard where the machine gunner also gets a pistol sidearm. And the 1911s we had were worn out junk. They rattled like a tin full of bolts when you moved them.
Thanks buddy!