South Lancashire Regiment jacket

[Anjoucollector]

Good evening,

I have found this jacket of a South Lancashire Regiment's officer. No label inside. Is it possible to date it ? Thank you

Laurent

[cbuehler]

It could be 1930s through early 1950s, just no way to be certain, although I would lean more towards the earlier of this range. The Barathea cloth it is made from started to become more popular for uniforms in the 30s and on. Seldom seen before then.

CB

[Toby Purcell]

The absence of pleats on the chest pockets indicates it’s a pattern of the 1930s as cbuehler has suggested. In all other respects it matched the pattern first introduced in 1896, when it was added to the wardrobe required of an infantry officer alongside the slightly earlier red (the shade was more red than scarlet) patrol jacket, which was cut identically. In 1902 the red version was discontinued and replaced by a knee length frock-coat, leaving just the blue patrol jacket. WW1 led to the demise of much uniform outside of drab khaki other than in the Colonies and Dominions, but in the 1930s, especially in the lead up to the Coronation of King George VI, it was felt that simple and relatively inexpensive ‘blue patrols’ should be reintroduced. Other than for the Foot Guards, who had always favoured pockets without pleats, it was only the 1930s version of the general pattern blue patrol jacket that was without pleats, both the earlier (1896) and the later (1949) version had pleated chest pockets. The Highland Light Infantry had their own unique pattern, as did Rifle regiments, and in general the Scottish regiments all favoured a cut-away front. The use of barathea cloth was copied directly from the Foot Guards.

[Anjoucollector]

Thank you for your very precise reply