Parachute Regiment battledress tunic

[DougSA]

I acquired this BD tunic in the mid-1980s, from a branch of the Parachute Regiment & Airborne Forces Association, who were selling items from veterans as a means of fundraising.

The BD tunic itself is South African made and looks to be dated 1945.

I would particularly appreciate members views on the insignia. At the time that I acquired it, I certainly did not question authenticity, given the source. Also, wonderful resources like this forum were not yet available to check on what to look for. The tunic has been in storage for some years while I was living overseas and is now 'seeing the light of day' once more.

The shoulder titles are of the early 'Parachute' variety, so would actually pre-date the tunic. However, one can see the remnants of previous stitching, which would be consistent with having been removed from one BD tunic and transferred onto this one. I think that South African made BD was preferable to British made BD (as was Canadian and US made BD) and I could imagine a soldier transferring insignia across on acquiring a much nicer BD tunic.

What is raising questions for me are the Pegasus patches. These are printed, but are not exactly the same as others that I know to be genuine. For example, the detail of Bellerophon's helmet - with the individual dots rather than less well defined 'line'.

Anyway, it would be great to get some insights!