British Expeditionary Force - 1940
Poor Blinking Infantry - 1942
1HQ Canadian Parachute Battalion - 1944
Last updated for content 1-25-25
Before joining the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion I was collecting Commonwealth military gear for 2 years. The history and provenance of the uniforms worn by people who were often only remembered for needing US aid and their retreat from Dunkirk is fascinating to me. Their gear is made up of many improvements from its predecessors in the Great War, as well as the need to be tailored not only to many different roles in an expanding modern military at the time, but also produced by the colonies of the British Commonwealth. The pictures here show a small variety of the numerous patterns and variants of the webbing, which I have assembled in an attempt to capture the most common and some rarer versions of what was worn in the time period.

The first picture shows my layout in progress spread of what a soldier of the British Expeditionary Force would have worn when on the beach at Dunkirk @1940. The early 1937 pattern of Battle Dress uniform is paired with Mark I variants of the Pattern 37 webbing pouches on the belt, a lack of an entrenching tool, and the No.1 Mk.3 Enfield which was the same pattern still in service from the Great War.

Mid 1942 now and the Poor Blinking Infantry (PBI) are improving again.. The Mark II “Tommy” helmet is replaced by the Mark III “Turtle”, and the rifle is now the No.4 Mk.1 variant, which was cheaper and easier to manufacture after the massive material loss at Dunkirk. This uniform in specific is an example of a BREN machine gun ammo bearer, sporting a pair of “Utility” pouches on their straps to carry 6 more magazines (8 = 6 +2 from the rifleman standard loadout) for the squad light machine gun.

My most used uniform however is the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion battledress for mid 1944 until the end of the European Theatre of Operations (ETO) - featuring in Operations: Overlord for D-Day, the Garden of Market Garden (both were the airborne named activities for these operations and Varsity - the jump across the Rhine. With its 2nd pattern Denison smock, “Helmet, Steel, Airborne Troop” helmet (or HSAT), and choice of STEN Mk.II or the Enfield No.4 rifle. Basic jump kit would also include an over smock and parachute, as well as leg bag worn on the right leg.
I hope to continue improving my selection of uniforms and equipment to better portray the often-overlooked arm of World War II. This includes the relatively unknown efforts of the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion during D-Day till the end of the war in Europe. With so many Commonwealth countries and colonies contributing to the war effort in both material and manpower, it is important to remember their sacrifices as instrumental in allowing the Allies to gain victory.
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Nice read. Thanks
Well done.