Redcoat:

TheRegimental Coat of the British Infantryman, c 1808 -15 l3}

GLENN A. STEPPLER

erhaps the most distinctive feature of the British infantryman's coat was its regimental lace, or 'looping'. Such 'looping' had first appeared in the British service in the late 17th century as a distinc tion on Grenadier dress, and was to disappear from LOOP SHAPES AND
general use onl y in the mid-19th century. Its last PLACING
vestiges are still to be seen today on the uniforms of Modern convention has the Brigade of Guards, on tunic skirts and cuffflaps. assigned only three shapes
n the early 19th century the lace was woven with var ious coloured stripes and 'worms' of regimental pat tern, and was used not only as all edging to the collar, shoulder straps, wings and turnbacks, but also as 'loops' formed as an ornament at buttons and buttonholes. It was used further to decorate the rear of the coat, between

formed; and by whether the loops and buttons were set on 'regular' (i.e. single or evenly spaced), or in pairs, or in threes (as were those of the 3rd Regiment of Foot Guards).

the hip buttons. Regiments were distinguished not only by the pattern of their lace, but also by the shape into which the 'loops' were

into which the 'loops' were formed: square-ended, pointed and bastion. In fact, however, early 19th century practice recognised at least five shapes, and it is possible that there were even more. The 'bastion' loops were of two sorts: 'Flowerpot' and 'Jew's Harp'. The pointed loops included a common 'straight point' and a rarer

'Coldstream' loop. There may also have been another variation to the pointed, loop, folded in a manner ascribed later in the 19th century to the 93rd Regiment of Foot (1). The square-ended loops were also referred to as 'double headed'loops. When the existing clothing regulations were reviewed in 1802 it was noted that the infantry were to use ten loops on each side of the front of the
Lighl Compally, ullidentified regi mell/; coat (3); Musee Royal de l'Annee, Bruxelles. TI,e lIille :fiowerpol' loops dowlI each side of the chest well illustrate the problem of fi((illg baslioll-slyle loops 011 to regimental coats. The reglliatioll tCII, described ill 1802, was simply too mallY, especially for the shorter coat of later years, al1d the 110tes of the Pearse fin" make co//sistwt ref erellce to o,dy lIine. Where bastiOIl style loops were to be set 011 ill pairs Ihe Clolhil1g Board allowed eighl, which l1umber was also samtioned i" 1802for the 'jackets' of High land regimel/ls. The coat has yellow faCings, and irs lace is described as havitlg a blue or black stripe. The willgs are de corated with Ihick green tufting. II I,as not yet been possible 10 idel1lify the bU((OIIS, though they are all 'sma/l', as is correa for Light In fantry clothing. Possibly il is an Irish Militia coat. Inlriguillgly, the National Army MusCli/ll has a photo of this coat which identifies it as beil1g from the Colds/ream Guards. Call there ill faa be allY possible associa tion? The provel1ance of the coat is IWI clear, bUI il is said 10 have once beell ill the /IIuseum which Cotlon sel up at Waterloo. In the laller years of Ihe NapoleOl/ic wars many regular regimellts received /IIi/itia men as drafls, lakillg them directly illto their ranks still wearillg cloth ing provided by their original reg i ,nel1ts. Such. clothing was WOYII UII til replaced ill the lIext OIlI1ual clothing of their new regimC/1t. Mell who had beell clothed by the Mililia were illdeed serving ill the Coldstream in Flanders in early 1815. All of Ihe Coldstream were repo/ted 10 have Iheir coats in a very poor stale alld mOllY mell had their coats patehed, 'particularly those who were lasr clorhed by the Militia'. The Coldstream did nOI recei,'e their lIew clotllingfor 1815 ulllil after Waterloo. Is Ihere a possibility Ihat this coat was ac tually 'VOYII by a militiaman serv illg ill ti,e Coldstream ill 1814/15 perhaps evell 01 Waterloo? U'ifor tunately it has not been possible to examille the coatfor other clues.

39

Right: 'Mess." J. N. & B. Pearse', Re cords Book, c. 1803-1819. Typicol entries giving derails Jor privates' coors oj rhe trh and 9th Regiments oj Foot, wirh samples oj their regi mentallace. This is a unique source Jar the study oj early 19th century uniform, but one constrailled by poor writing, idiosy"craric abbreviatiollS and later alteratiolls which make many entries difficult to decipher, or to date precisely. (COllOdion War Museum)

Above: Grenadier alld Light Compally privares oj the 29th (Worcester shire) Regimellt, aJter Charles Ha milton Smith, 1813. While both are shown with poillled loops, rhose on rhe Grfl/adier (left) appear to be set on evenly ('regular') while rhose oj his companiar, are cOllcei vably in pairs. In his schematic robles (Costume of the Army, Londoll, 1815), Hamiltoll Smith indicates square ('double-headed') loops set in pairs; but De Basset (1803) shows pointed loops iI' pairs. A" rhe beller evidfl/ce oj Pearse's notatiolls, De Basset would appear to be correct: pointed loops in pairs. Pearse also includes a sample oj the lace, which again colrJorms exactly /0 De Basser. The coats have been left unbut tOiled at the top to expose the shirt Jrill. (Photo courtesy P. J. Haythornthwaire)

coat, with a further four on each cuff and on each pocket flap. Highland regiments wore jackets, and were to have only eight loops down each side of the front and three on each pocket flap.

Alone, the 3rd Foot Guards had nine loops, set in threes, on each side of the front, and three on each cuff and pocket flap. In practice, however, the number of loops appear ing on the breast of the coat varied with the shape of the loop being used, and might be further altered in respect of the size of the man or boy being clothed. Whereas the square (or 'double-headed') loops and the pointed varieties pre sented tailors with little prob lem, the bastion-style loops were distinctly awkward. They required more space, and when set on 'regular' the custom was to use only nine loops (instead of the pre scribed ten) on each side of the front. In addition it was 'well known that the RegIS which wear their Loops by two's and are made Bastion Button holes, cannot poss ibly have more than Eight on

the Breast, unless upon a very large sized Coat, and then it is too much crowded'(2). The difficulty was brought to the attention of the Clothing Board, and in January 1809 it was decided to grant permis sion 'to Regiments having the Bastion Loop to wear eight Button Holes provided the Lace is put on by Two's; but in no other Instance'(J). In 1802 it was also noted that the coats and jackets of corporals and private soldiers were 'to be exactly similar . . . in setting on the Lace, Buttons, Shldr. Straps, & Pocket Flaps ... as ... des cribed for the Serjeants of their respective Reg. IS or Corps'. This indeed seems to have been the usual practice (though a narrower white 'braid' was used on sergeants' coats), but there were excep tions. In the 22nd Regiment of Foot the coats of the pri vate men were made with eight Jew's Harp loops set in pairs, but those of their ser geants were made with fIve pairs of square-ended 100ps(4). Buttons The buttons, apart from being themselves distincti vely marked to each regi ment, were used to make a further distinction between regiments and companies, depending on the size and the number of buttons used. Bat talion and Grenadier com pany coats were adorned with both 'coat' and 'breast' buttons, the former being used on the cuffs, pocket flaps and hips, the smaller 'breast' buttons appearing down the front of the coat, on the shoulder straps and fre quently as a closure on the pocket flap. The number of large buttons used on such

coats seems to have been 18; but the exact number of small buttons depended not only on the number of chest loops, but also on whether or not the coat was made with a but ton with which the soldier could close his pocket. The number of small 'breast' but tons thus varied from ten to fourteen(S). The jackets of the Light Infantry companies and of the Light Infantry regiments and also of the 5/60th and the 95th (Rifle) Regiment - were embellished only with small buttons, the usual number being 30 (and 44 on 'rifle jackets '). Evidence on the 43rd Regiment of Foot shows that prior to its conversion to Light Infantry in 1803, the Battalion and Grenadier coats of the regiment had required a total of 32 buttons (18 coat and 14 breast); but the regi ment's new Light Infantry 'jackets' needed only 30 (all breast buttons), on account of the pockets being sloped dia gonally and the opening into the pockets being moved to the pleats, where no buttoll was used to close them. The Battalion and Grenadier companies of Highland regi ments, although wearing 'jackets', seem to have had a conventional combination of both coat and breast buttons(6) .

'Mess. rs J. N. & B. Pearse' Reconstructions of the sol dier's coat worn during the Napoleonic period have had to rely heavily on the infor mation supplied in schematic form by Charles Philip de Bosset's A View of the British Army . .. 1803 and Charles Hamilton Smith's Costume oj the Army ... according to the Last Regulations, 1814. Neither, however, tells us everything. Although Ull noticed in modern uniform studies which use De Bosset's work as a reference, De Bos set was in fact careful to dis tinguish between those bastion loops which were 'Jew's Harp' and those which were 'Flowerpot'. Hamilton Smith was less so, and fre quently his bastion shapes are indistinct. Some of the differ ences in detail between De

40

Bosset and Hamilton Smith can certainly be explained by changes which were made after 1803 in the lace patterns and loop shapes of some regi ments; but confidence in both these sources, especially in Hamilton Smith, can be shaken by discrepancies in the original colouring (done by hand) between one version and another. Some of the resulting problems can now be resolved by evidence from an early 19th century records book associated with the London clothiers .Mess. rs J. N. & B. Pearse'. The acquisition abollt ten years ago of several Pearse items by the Canadian War Museum is of no small importance, for during the Napoleonic Wars Pearse was a principal supplier of regi mental clothing. The Pearse family had a long association with the military clothing trade; and in the early 1800s, as evidenced by their records book, supplied clothing at one time or another to over 70 different regiments of the Line. In addition they sup plied Militia clothing, and that of various of Britain's 'foreign corps'. Their impor tance is further indicated by the fact that in 1814 all of the standard patterns held by the army's Inspectors of Cloth ing, for infantry coats and jackets, were supplied by Pearse(7) . The Pearse book IS an important find, but it is not without its difficulties and limitations. It was very much a 'working' record and conse quently there are numerous alterations, rubbings-out and new entries. Not all is legible, and much is in a very cursory note form. The precise dating of many entries is uncertain. The paper is watermarked to '1803' and internal evidence suggests that the book was probably begun early that year. Most of the entries date

between 1803 and 1817 or 1819, and a few towards the end were added as late as 1840(8). The book was used principally to record the amounts of regimental lace and the number of buttons needed for each coat or jacket, but includes other incidental notations as well. Samples of many of the laces

were glued to the pages, but sadly many are now missing. As entries were changed from time to time, there are often several different ones for the same regiment. Some are extremely sparse on detail; the most useful are summar ised here in tabular form. While the Pearse records add a great deal of new infor

Left: Lo,'p shapes: (A) 'Double-headed' or 'square'. (B) 'jew's Harp'. (C)'Flowerpot'. (D)'Cold stream '. (E) 'Straight Point'. (F)Poillted (a type offolded poillf later ascribed by Pearse to the 93rd Regimellf). Britain's early 19th century military clothing trade re cognised at least five loop shapesfor infantry coats, and possibly more. The bastion-style loops were oftwo sorts, (Flowerpot' and jew's Harp', while the poillfed loops ill cluded a common 'straight point' and a 'Coldstream' loop, m,d poss ibly another variation folded in a manner noted by Pearse, c.1840s, for the 93rd Regimen/. The Pearse notes of e. 1803-1819 illdicate a 'Coldstream' loop for the 93rd. The 'Coldstream' loop sholll/l here is takenfrom a surviving coat ofthe Coldstream Guards, e.1790. Matching the terminology IIsed in Pearse's records to the actual loop shapes is not straightforward, and has beell deduced from intental evi dence from Pearse and by a compar ison of the Pearse "otes with De Bosse/. Just to confuse mailers, however, there is also other early 19th century evidence which indi caleS that some ill the military cloth i"g trade may have switched the terms 'Flou'erpot' mId 'jew's Harp' as given here! The labelling nsed here, however, does seem to be what Pearse meant by these two
terms.

As in all other aspects of the making of the soldier's coat, there was always variation dlle to halld workillg, poor workmanship, ete., and the neatness ofthe reslilts ill the folding alld sewing of the lace was no exception. It wascommon, upon receiving the year's clothing from the clothier, to have the lace com pletely resewn by the regimental tailors.
Bottom: Balflion Company, 83rd Regi ment; coat (6); Musie de l'Annee, Les Invalides, Paris. An excellellt view of a Battalion CompallY 'Cros> Pocket Flap' with a small fUllC/iollal bullon as a closure. As in coat (7) - Grelladier, 87th Regi mellt - access to the real pocket is from the top of the pocket flap. Note also the diagonal forward slant given to the two loops nearest the tumback. Ullfortllllalely Pearse's Ilotations Oil the 83rd Re giment are very scanl, mentioni"g only that there were tell 'double headed'ioops in pairs, the lace to be set on with the 'Green Edge in '. All of these details are sew in both survivillg coats ofthe 83rd, 1l0S. (5) alld (6). The facings are yellow; the lace has one red and olle green stripe. (Musie de l'Annie, photo courtesy Martin Windrow)

,l\\~
.

mation on the details of the soldier's coat, they also point very clearly to the fact that there remains much which is unknown. This is certainly
continued on page

46

41

42

Left:
Grenadier Company, 87th (The Prince of Wales's Own Irish) Regi ment; coat (7) in the sequence adopted in Part 1 of this series, 'M!' No.20; RIF Museum, Ar magh. Prior to 1811 the regiment's title was without the word 'Own'. The coat is ofspecial interest, being both an example of a Grenadier's and also one having pointed loops. Pearse made coats for the 87th Re giment, but not necessarily this one. The coat has the usual 18 large bUllons, but only 12 small. No tations on the 87th are entered three times in the Pearse records -thefirst two include 14 small bUllons, and what appears to be the last elllry mentions only twelve, butthisfinal entry is entirely struck oul. The lining of the survivor is stamped with what appears to be a maker's name, but it has not beeen possible to decipher it. (Royal Irish Fusi liers Museum)

themselves? The small shoulder strap buttons, apparently contem porary, are quite unlike those used elsewhere on the coat. Unfortuna tely it has not been possible to ident ify them.

Above right:
Grenadier coats, like those of the Ballalioll Companies, had 'Cross Pocket Flaps', adomed with four large 'coat' bUllons, each with a loop of the regimenwl lace. The diago/wl slant given to the pair of loops nearest the 'turnback' is also seen on the surviving coats of the 83rd Regiment, (5) and (6) ill our sequence. The bullons bear an ara bic '87' surmounted by a harp, over which appears the plumed device of the Prince of Wales. An opening along the top edge of the pocket flap admilled the hand into the real pocket, but is without any small functiollal bullon to close it. The Pearse 1I0tes, callingfor 14 small buttons, presumably illcluded two which were to be usedfor clos ing the pocket flaps, as 011 the coats ofthe 83rd Regiment - (5) and (6); that of the 9th Regiment- (1); alld one of the 26th Regiment coats (2).

Right:
The wings conform to the 1802 requirements for Grenadiers, being ofred cloth with '6 Darts ofLace on Each' with 'a Row of Lace on the Bottom'. In cut they are of a more oval shape and much fuller than the common Light Infantry wing. As they are, the wings are without any of the additional fringe so popular with many other regiments though possibly the tailors of the 87th would have intended to add it

Above left:
The cuffs bear the usual four large 'coat' bUllons, each with a loop of regimelltal lace, formed here into a commoll 'straight poilit', the lace beillg set on with the 'red edge out' as per Pearse's IIOfes.

43

Privates' Coats: Notations from 'Messers.J. N. & B. Pearse', c. 1803-1819

Reg,
lSI

Facings (a)

Lace Sample (b)

Yards of Looping
12

Type (c)

Loops No. (d) 9 10

Spacing (e)

Buttons Large Small

Sergeant's Coat (I)

Olher nOles (g)

2nd 3rd

'DutT

One narrow black stripe bet ween one r<.,d and one yellow stripe. all wgethcr Jnd 10 one side, red stripe ncar edge

DH

R R
T

18

12

'Broad Bread (or scrjc;lIu'

Same as private

10

4,h 51h 6,h

'Bille

Narrow blue stripe along one edge Missing One red stripe near one edge Jnd one pale yellow stripe ncar other edge
Blue stripe ncar One edge

13 14 12

FP JH DH

9 9 10

R
R

18 18 18

13(11) \I 12

Same as privJte Same as privJ[e Same as priv:u\.'

'Blue edge oflacc in'

'Olive drab'
'Yellow

'Red edge of bee

Ollt

7,h 8,h 9,h 12,h

13th

'Blue

12

DH DH DH JH

10 10
10 8 10 8

R R
T T T T T

18

12

Same as private Same as privJte

'Blue edge oflaec 'Yellow edge om'

OUI'

'Lemon

One black stripe Missing

nC;'If

each edge

18 18 18 18 18

12 10 14 10 12

12 12

S:mlc as priv:uc

'Lemon

Narrow pale yeUowish-buff stripe !lear one edge with a bluel red worm ncar other edge

12

JH DH

Same as private Same 3S private

12

'Br03d edge oflace out'

14,h

'White

10

15,h 16,h 17,h

'Yellow
'White'

D:lrk red stripe ne3r one edge One yellow stripe between twO bl3ck stripes, all together and to one side ne3r ecige

12 12

DH DH DH

10 10 10

18 18

12 12

Same as private Same as private Same as private

'as 34 lace' 'red edge of lace Ollt 'Droad edge of Lace

Olll'

R
T

20,h 21S! 221ld 23rd 24,h 25th 26,h 28,h 29,h

'Blue'

One blue stripe :lIong one edge

12 12 12

DH JH JH

10 8 9

18 18 18

14 12 10

Same 3S private

'Dlue edge ofl3ce in'

'DutT

'10 loops by Twos. Dbl. Hd:

S3me as private

'Dlue'

12 12(14) 12

18 18 18

14 13(10) 14

One wormed blue stripe in centre

FPOH)

T T

Same as priv3te

'Yellow'

One yellow stripe in centre, and one black stripe nen each edge One yellow stripe along e~ch edge with a black stripe running beside it Missing One red stripe in centre

DH P,d

12

10
10

18

12

Same as private

'narrow edge of lace in' 'Loops reverst on cuffs flaps white shoulder strap 'red stripe oflau ill'

32rd 33rd

'Whitc'

12

DH JH

10
8

T T

18 18

14 10

Same as privatt.'

'Yellow

Same 3S priv3te

34,h

One wormed scarlet stripe near one edge, anci one blue/yellow worm near the Olher OnC' broad scarlet stripe ncar one edge, with a broad yellow stripe next to iL One scarlet stripe ncar each edge and one yellow stripe in cemre. Missing One wormed b!:lck strlpe jn centre, One broad scarlct stripe: ncar olle edge

12

DH

10

18

12

J.7th

'Yellow

12

DH

10

18

14

SamC' as private

'red edge of Lace out'

38,h 39,h
41st

'Yellow 'Creen'

14 12

JH DH JH JH

9 10 9 8

R
T

18 18 18 18

14 14 11 10

Same 35 private Same as private Same as private 'Serjl. same except turn back lac'd on Blue clo,h and Silk Bread' S:101t.' ::as private 'rcd edge

'green l.'dge of lace out'

12

R R

OUI'

42nd

43rd

'White

One black stripe near Olle cdge and one scarlet stripe ncar the other edge Missing One red and one d3rk blue stripe set together in cenne '

12

DH

10

18(X)

14(30)

'Black edge in'

44,h 46th 47,h 48,h 49,h 50,h SIS!

'Yellow

12

DH DH DH DH FP DH

10

18

14

Same as private

'Black'

10 10
10 9 10

T T T
R

18 18

14 14 30 30 12 14

S3me as priv3te Same as private

'Black edge in'

12 14 14

One sc;:arlet slripe in centre

Same as private

'Creen Missing

Coldsm.

Same as private

'Creen edge of !:lce out 'Privatcs Jackel'

10
-

52nd 53rd 54th

'Olive drab'

One SC3r1cl stripe in centrc Missing

15 12 12

DH DH

T T

18 18

Same as private Same ::as private

10
10

44

Regt 55th 56,h 58th

Facings
(a)

Lace Sample
(b)

Ya['ds of Looping

Loops
Type (c) DH DH No, (d) 10 Spacing (e) T T

Buttons Large Small

Sergeant's Coat (0
Same as private Same as private

Other note, (g)

'Blue' Missing

12 12

18 18

12 14

10

'Blue' Missing

DH DH

10 10

R T

12

18

12
44 44

Same as privJte

'Broad edge out' 'New regulation'

'RiAe Jacket'

6O,h S/6Oth

'Salmon

One blue stripe ncaf one edge

12 12 12

DB

10

18 18 18

Same
3S

'Red cuff and collar'

6151 62nd 64,h

14 14 14

private

'Dlue edge out'

Coulcrcd'

'Bl3ck'

One red stripe ncar one edge, and one black stripe nen the other edge

DH

10

Same as private
Same
3S 3S 3S

.red edge in'

65,h

'Olive drab'

One black stripe ne;u each edge

Missing

12

JH DH DH DH

9 10 10 10

R R R T

18

14

narrow edge in' 'Private Coat altered J,cke,' yellow edge in'
(Q

12 12 12

18 18 18

14 12 14

66th

private

'Olive'
68th
'Green'

Missing

Same
Same

private
private

69th

'Green'

One green stripe in centre and

one scarlet stripe along each edge

12

DH

10

18

14

Same

35

priv:tte

70th 71S! nnd

'Black'

Olle black snipe in cemre

12 12 14 13 12 12

DH

10

18

14(12)

Same

35

private

'Privates Jacket'

'Yellow
'White

One green stripe ncar one edgl: One scarlet snipe se( off centre aile red stripe near one edge, and one black stripe and one yellow srripe set together ncar Ih" other edge, Ihe black [Q me outside

JH DH DH

9 10 10

R R R

18 18 18 18

30
14
II

Same: as private Same S3me

35

'Green edge
Out'

74,h 77,h

14 14

private private

red edge out 'sky blue edge in'

'Yellow'

3~

78th

80,h

'Yellow'

One red stripe in CClltre, and onc bbck stripe alollg cach edge

14

9 10 10 10 10 10 10(X) 10

R T T T T T T(X) T

18

14

Same as private

J,ckel'

12

FP
P,d P,d DH DH P,d Pld(X) DH(Ptd)

18 18

14 12

'Green edge ill'

Samc as: private

12 12

83rd 85,h 87,h

'Yellow 'Creell' Missing Missing

18 18 18(X) 18 18

14 14 12(X) 14 14

Same as privale Same as privJ.tc Same as pri v3te(X) Same as private

red edge out

88,h 89,h 9O,h 93rd 'Yellow

Missing

One yellow stripe along one cdge

12(X) 12 12

'Blue edge in' 'Dlue edge in'

P,d DH

10 10

T T

13 13(15)

18 18

12 10
Same
3S

private

Coldsm JH

8 9

'J,cket'
'yellow edge of lace out'

94th 95th (RiRe Brig3de) 961h

'44 Bultons' '44 Dutlons'

SaInI: as private

"cd edge ou,'(X)

'3 yards wte. Draid for

feathering' 'RiAe Jacket'

'3 yards of white braid

for feathering. Coller straps & cuff only.'

White' One bbck stripe near one edge CLigh, Butr) and one red stripe and onl: yellow stripe set together ncar the other edge, the red on the outside.

12

DH

10

18

12

Same as private

red edge in'

97th

'lJlue

One blue stripe in centre and One yellow stripe ne3r e3ch edge.

12

DH

10

18

12(14)

Same 3S private

'I"c 100,h'

99,h 103rd

DH DH

10 10

T T

Same as privalc

Explaflorory Noll'S:

Later alteratiolls arc given in brackets. A 'x' in bracke(s indicates that the entry was later struck out. (a,) Description in Pearse entries, if given. (b.) Descriptioll oflacc sample glued into book, some are now missing, other elltries were originally without any sampk. (c.) Abreviatiol1s for the loop shapes arc:

DH 'Double-he3ded' ('quarc) FP 'Flowerpot JH - JCw', Harp' Prd - 'Pointed' Coldsm 'Coldstream

(d.) Numbcr of loops ollihe breast. (c.) Spacing of loops: R- 'Regular' (single, Or even) T - 'by 2' (in p,irs) (f.) The notations include OIany lerse references to

serge3nts' coats, USU311y entered simply 35 'Same for Priv3lc', but occasion311y therl: arc other notations, all of which arc reproduced with-out correction of spelling or puncw.:uioll. Thus br.aid has been lef( as 'Bread', CIC. Some entries includc no reference 10 sergeants' coats, and are left blank. (g.) These nQ(I:S usually refcr to the placement of the regimental lace in forming lhe loop. They are reproduced without correction of spelling or pUllCtuacion.

45

OJficerand privale, 52nd (Oxford shire) Light !rifal/lry - aJter Charles HamiltOtl Smil!l, 1814. Lighl !rifal/try dres.< was dis til/guished not o'dy by the relenlion oj the stovepipe shako and the adoption oj Illings by all (OlIIpanies, but also by Ihe use oj small 'breast' bUllol/S only. Pearse's nolatiollS Jar the 52nd Regiment call Jar 30 'small' billions, and make special referellce to 'jackels' beil/g lIIade as opposed 10 'coats'. The s!lorlness oj the 'jackel', and its diagonal pocket flaps, are clearly visible. Pearse also reqldred 15 yards oj regimelllal 100pingJor each jackel, three yards oj which was the allowance Jar making lip Ihe wings. (Photo (Our tesy P. J. Hayl!lornthwaile)

41 true of the surviving coats and jackets which have been studied in this short series of articles, especially as to their provenance. It is to be hoped that some day more can be discovered - and should any 'M/' readers be able to shed further light on any aspect of the subject, the author would be only too glad to hear from them (and may be reached via the 'M/'editorial address, let ters addressed to the author by name).
continued from page

particular note of thanks must be given to Paul Fortier of Parks Canada for making his notes and photographs available. and to Martin Windrow for his generous support and encouragement. Special thanks too must be given to John Mollo, Philip J. Haythornthwaite, Marion A. Harding (Cape Ann Histori cal Association) and to Maj. (retd) M. Wright (RIF Museum, Armagh). Raoul Brunon (Musee de L'Em peri), W. Y. Carman, Rene Chartrand, Leslie Smurth waite (National Army Museum), and my wife, Car olyn, all offered assistance and information. IMJl
Sources and Notes (1) Canadian War Museum. Pearse books. (2) PRO, WO 7/34, pp. 285-86. (3) PRO, WO 7/34, pp. 280-81. (4) CWM, Pearse books. (5) CWM, Pearse books. (6) CWM, Pearse books. (7) PRO, WO 7/54. (8) The dating is based chiefly on the raising and disbanding dates of var ious corps in the books and on th~ dates of conversion of some corps into Light Infantry regiments (which necessitated a change of uniform). This establishes some of the limits on . the dating, but of course it is not apparent from this exactl:' when the Pearse firm acquired contracts. or lost them, for particular regiments.

Acknowledgements Developing a better picture of the soldier's dress can only be a co-operative effort, and a

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