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  #16  
Old 23-01-16, 06:50 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cw2311 View Post
Okay Gents,

As you can see by the picture, the two berets are only 1 year apart, "A" being the war time beret. The grommets are actually the same size, just my lack of photography skills has made them look different. These two berets are identical in production methods in every way except for the actual maker mark details and the grommets. The 1945 beret has magnetic grommets and the 1946 has aluminum grommets.

I have almost every year from 1943 up to 1955 by this maker and all of the post war years have aluminum grommets. I found this quite interesting. Production methods appeared to remain the same until 1949, then in 1950 some more changes were made with the binding application. This being said, I am more than certain you may find early post-war Dorothea berets with magnetic grommets in order to deplete stock during the grommet changeover but I personally haven’t seen one as of yet. Grand Mere on the other hand is a whole different ball of wax as they changed the size (larger) and material (aluminum) used for their grommets post-war but construction methods seemed to remain the same into the 1950s.

What does all this mean do you ask? Well, the value of the 1945 maroon beret alone without cap badge will probably fetch approximately $1000 and up, whereas the 1946 may get $200 on the market. If you change the liner centre, then you have a pretty nice profit margin and almost undetectable to most buyers. Unfortunately a library of books wouldn’t save you in this case, only experience. I have encountered this with a couple berets now. I hope you enjoyed this little experiment. Buyer beware.


Roy and Edwin,

I have not forgotten you. You guys have been such good sports and I consider you both winners! So, you both will get a prize! I found out recently via email that I have a distant relative who happens to be a Nubian Prince. He’s looking for a way to transfer 100 million dollars out of Egypt and you will get a small reward for helping him. Simply PM me all your banking details and passwords and I will be sure to forward it off to him. I have no doubt you will be pleasantly surprised!

Thanks for playing.

Cheers
whahahahaha....
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  #17  
Old 07-02-16, 09:27 PM
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Here's another interesting little tidbit relating to Dorothea production. I have attached a picture of a current day para beret beside a 1943 dated para beret. As you can see, the actual size of the grommet never changed for decades.

1943 - steel
1993 - aluminum.

Cheers
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File Type: jpg DSC_0108.jpg (62.8 KB, 68 views)
File Type: jpg DSC_0450.jpg (48.4 KB, 64 views)
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  #18  
Old 11-02-16, 06:44 PM
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Hi, not sure if this is the right place, if not move it. This is a recent pick up of a friend at a local market, he said when it was dampened it showed a 44 date, I couldn't see it,best wishes Mike
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File Type: jpg DSC02487.jpg (73.1 KB, 37 views)
File Type: jpg DSC02488.jpg (86.2 KB, 36 views)
File Type: jpg DSC02489.jpg (79.8 KB, 22 views)
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  #19  
Old 11-02-16, 11:19 PM
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Hello Mike,

Interesting cap badge/beret combo you’ve got there, especially if it’s dated 1944. If possible, please post a good close up picture of the makers mark and turn the beret inside-out and get a picture of the liner so I can see some of the loop stitching that seems to be around the liner.

Cheers
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  #20  
Old 12-02-16, 02:47 PM
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Hi, as I said it belongs to a friend. Next time I'm at his house I'll get him to get it out of the garage again, best wishes Mike
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  #21  
Old 12-02-16, 03:34 PM
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The PPCLI beret is totally consistent with the parachute policy of the post war Cdn army. It was decided that each of the regular force regiments would have a para qualified battalion as part of the Mobile Striking Force formed in 1948. They wore the regimental badge and the maroon beret. The PPCLI were the first to train a battalion as para qualified and wore jump boots and the maroon beret. All battalions were granted permission to wear the grey badge backing circa 1948.
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  #22  
Old 12-02-16, 03:35 PM
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Opps, the berets were from existing stocks and then new orders were placed. The RCR and R 22e R also trained parachute battalions.
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  #23  
Old 13-02-16, 01:07 AM
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Agreed Bill,

I suspect the beret to be post-war simply because of what appears to be loop stitching, which is why I requested a few more pictures, that’s all.

Cheers
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  #24  
Old 23-01-19, 03:50 PM
juno-44 juno-44 is offline
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Hi,

I have a khaki beret by Dorothea Knitting Mills Limited dated 1945 with non ferrous grommets, is this possible?

Regards, juno-44
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