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Trousers

This is a pair of Service Dress trousers as introduced in 1902. Note the arrangement of the buttons, the cut of the rear of the trousers, the location of the remains of the paper label, and at the bottom of the pocket opening are two parallel reinforcing stitches (barely visible here).

When Service Dress was introduced in 1902 for all of the British Army a new pattern of trouser was issued to complement the Jacket. Although this was a new pattern it cannot be called a radical departure from the norms of other 19th century issue trousers save that it was made in the same drab shades as the Service Dress Jacket. Unlike the Jacket issue of the trousers was never intended, at first, to be universal. In general its issue was to the dismounted non-kilted units of the British Army. Even within traditionally dismounted units such as Infantry men detailed on cyclist or mounted duties would be issued Bedford Cord Pantaloons* in lieu of or in addition to trousers. This depended on the actual duty being performed. Issue was the same as that of the Jacket, i.e. 2 pair for home stations and usually 1 pair for stations abroad. During times of mobilization (the war) the issue would remain in theory the same. As for the jacket, on active service only one jacket and pair of trousers were worn or carried. This photo shows the lining of the trousers. Here can be seen the white lining, the classic War Department acceptance stamp, and the two reinforcing stitches at the base of the pocket opening. Click here for viewing a large detailed picture

Any additional items of issue were packed in the kit bag, which every Other Rank kept excess items. The Kit Bags would remain behind at Base or in the Battalion transport to be retrieved later.

Modification of trousers was against regulation, but as with the jacket this was sometimes ignored, particularly in wartime.

Introduction:

These are the trousers as modified in 1918. Note that the cut remained the same but the paired arrangement of buttons was changed to a single button. Barely visible are the two parallel stitches at the base of the pocket.

The Service Dress Trouser was introduced in the same set of Army Orders as the Jacket. The Trouser can be described as loose and straight legged that when fitted would ride high on the waist and would be held up by trouser braces. It was lined at the waistband and at the crotch with white cotton duck. The waistband was fitted with 12 buttons for the trouser braces. These buttons were arranged in pairs with two sets of pairs in the back and the other pairs at the front two on each side. These buttons were usually made of white metal (Zinc) or occasionally black japanned tin. Pockets were let into the side seams of the trousers. When the ORs were fitted with trousers enough room was to be left to allow for comfort when worn with shirt and woolen drawers. What is remarkable about the trousers is that until 1918 they remained virtually unchanged save as the war continued some of the lining and or pocket material may be made of cotton that tends towards a light shade of khaki. These are the classic inter-war SD trousers introduced in 1922. Note that the cut of the rear of the trousers has been modified. The label is now sewn to the trousers (here the label is dated 1916 but they are not WWI trousers) and all lining pieces are khaki cotton.

Only at the end of 1918 did these trousers slightly change in the manufacture. In that year the paired button arrangement was done away with and only six buttons, the paired button arrangement being done away with. The cut of the pattern remained the same with only very minor differences as a result in the change in button arrangement.

Not until 1922 was the actual cut of pattern changed. This change resulted in the back yoke being cut differently and minor reinforcing stitches being changed.

Markings:

As with the jacket three types of markings are present; 1. A label bearing size, manufacturer, nomenclature and Date; 2. War Department acceptance stamp; 3. Personal markings. The label was paper and would bear the manufacturer's name, information such as Size, Height, Waist, Breech, Leg and date of manufacture. It was glued, never sewn to the left outside rump area of the trousers. The Acceptance stamp was the classic Broad arrow with W and D on either side with inspector's number. It was usually stamped on the waistband lining. The soldier's personal mark would be stamped on the inside waistband lining and included his number, regiment, and month and date of issue. As with the jacket the personal markings on the trousers would be modified or not done at all during the war.

Modifications:

The need to tailor the trousers was never as great as that of the tunic. If done at all it usually consisted of tailoring the fit into a smarter look by tapering the legs for a better fit with the puttees or by reducing the waist size.

There is one major exception to this and that was the conversion of SD trousers into shorts.

Shorts:

This man of the 7th Northamptonshire Regiment (18th Division) is wearing a pair of cut down SD trousers. Note the double button arrangement of the original trousers. This photo was taken on 9 August 17 near Dickebusch.

Although not strictly part of the SD trousers I'd like to touch on the use of shorts and where they came from. Shorts can be broken into two categories, modified SD trousers that have had the legs hacked off and quasi issue varieties. The most commonly seen shorts in photos of British troops are those of the modified SD trousers type. It became a fairly widespread practice for units to hack the legs off at just above the knee. This practice was either directed by unit commanders to insure uniformity or permitted by units and the wear left to personal preference. This practice was not encouraged and in fact was outlawed by General Routine Order (GRO) 1850 of 5/10/16.

This stated, " certain units have been in the habit of wearing shorts as part of the recognized SD uniform and that the trousers issued to men have been cut down for the purpose. This practice is to cease". This GRO meet with mixed results, as shorts made of trousers can be seen into1918.

This is severely cropped to show the button characteristics of the Indian Army knickers. The original photo shows two men capturing a German emerging from a trench. Both men are wearing knickers. The original caption states that these men are from a territorial Battalion of the Devons. The only Territorial Battalion of the Devons to serve in France was the 1/5 Devons in the 185th Bde of the 62nd Division. This Battalion originally went to India in 1914 with the 43rd Div. It was transferred to Palestine on 4/4/17 to the 232 Bde and joined 75th Div on 20/8/17. It was transferred to the 62nd Division and arrived on 6/6/18 and fought for the remainder of the war in France.

Prior to WWI shorts were made popular by their use in hot climates and India. By British Clothing Regulations certain regions were allowed the issue of "knickerbockers", "knickers" or by slang "Bombay Bloomers". At first this was issued only to troops in South Africa in the early part of the century, but later expanded to areas such as Sierra Leone and units like the West Indies Regiment. In British Army Clothing Regulations it is always described as being made of khaki drill. However, the Indian Army was served by its own set of clothing regulations. Every British Battalion in India was governed by these regulations and not by the British Army clothing regulations. It was in these regulations that serge knickers were issued to units. Existing pre-war photos of troops in England wearing shorts may be actually wearing the Indian army knickers, as modifying trousers was forbidden. These could be photos of recently rotated battalions. However, more research is needed. The rarely seen photos of troops wearing knickers in the field during the war usually have a direct India connection. Knickers are characterized by the button turn backs that allow the legs to be fastened below the knees in inclement weather and are usually seen as a flap of material that is buttoned towards the wearers waist.

*to be covered later

About the author :

This articles was a contribution made for 'Before 1919' by Joe Sweeney.

Joe can be contacted on the following e:mail address :

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