View Full Version : Wooly Pully sweater
Question:
The "commando" sweater, green, patches on elbows/shoulders.
Is it field gear, or is (was) it only for garrison wear?
A.
Graham_S
04-09-2005, 18:58
definetly field gear. i still use mine when i'm out in the field. a great piece of kit.
Was both, summer dress was shirt sleeve order and winter was wooly pully!
swamp donkey
04-09-2005, 19:30
Definatly both, two issued one for work ,one for parade, Hated them then, hate them now ,never wore one if I could get away with it. For me the most useless bit of kit issued, even putties where more use :p but thats just me
Just to hi jack the thread I need to replace my Norwegian army wooly jumper used to be artic issue gren lift up collar thumb holes you know the ones :cool: . Any of you vikinhgs know if they are available over there as I just cannot find one in uk. No even on E bay :rolleyes:
Eric_Methven
04-09-2005, 20:01
The wooly pully was great until your wife sticks it in the washing machine and it comes out like it'll fit a two year old!
Eric
The wooly pully was great on exercise when i was a sproggy sapper,along with my boil in the bag waterproofs,poncho,58 pattern large pack and a doss bag full of feathers(or should i say quarter full of feathers,all stuffed into one corner).
Top tip was to get cam cream on the collar of your green shirt and then try and get it off before RSM's kit inspection.
ROP's anyone :(
Wooly pullys are great if you want to itch from sun up to sun down and then let of steam like the morning mist.
Better off with a norwegian army shirt and a descent fleece.
Hi,
I hate my wooly pully and always used to wear a HH field jacket when not in camp. Swamp Donkey you can get the Norwegian sweater from Silvermans. They call it a Green Norge sweater, its £40. I'm looking at one as well.
Brian
steven andrews
04-09-2005, 21:32
Hi,
I hate my wooly pully and always used to wear a HH field jacket when not in camp. Swamp Donkey you can get the Norwegian sweater from Silvermans. They call it a Green Norge sweater, its £40. I'm looking at one as well.
Brian
Yup, the HH field jacket was a "must have" bit of kit. That, a Norgy shirt and a windproof smock.
The guys who wore issue kit used to suffer - gibbering in a GS cotton shirt, wooley pulley and a useless 85 pattern jacket.
I made a jumper to fit a two year old once!
If you think wooly pullies are itchy,remember KF shirts?
KF shirt.................Ouch! :( :eek: :eek: :(
Closing up your poncho roll with a spoon ;)
Doss bag in a black bin bag on the outside of your large pack........dry?
In the prone position with your large pack on..........does anybody see the enemy!
I didn't just ants and worms :D :D :D
swamp donkey
05-09-2005, 00:43
Stot;- Gib barracks or Cove camp ?
Not forgetting shovel on back of large pack , go to get up shovel blade in back of leg :eek:
Just thought of some thing more useless ;) Barrack dress trousers what where they all about :confused:
Brain :- Thanks for that but £45 foran extra large and I dont like Silvermans these days just to greedy :p
steven andrews
05-09-2005, 09:01
"Large" pack... :rolleyes:
Big Geordie
05-09-2005, 11:28
Hey.. dont knock wooly pullies.... I missed mine so much I bought one yesterday on e bay for 99p.
The reason? I was told my high tech fleece is bound to get burnt around a fire whereas the wooly wont suffer as badly. Did I get it wrong again??
I'll get me coat.
George :)
swamp donkey
05-09-2005, 11:45
99p can never be wrong :)
yep fleeces do melt , I have a couple that would make better sieves :rolleyes:
Better to melt than itch ;) ;) :) :D
Either that or make a full suit from used sandbags.............medic! :p
Surely we could have them under the trades description act as the "Large Pack" was anything but large. Oh and I liked the fact that it would shrink when it got wet!
Brian
swamp donkey
05-09-2005, 18:32
yes;- stand to at first light webbing doent fit :confused: must of eaten all the pies last night ;) webbing flapping about because the wasist belt will not do up . Look at old sweat looking sweet because he has a rollerbelt :p
Better start filling the sand bags and buy a hurricane lamp from E bay :rolleyes:
We need a "swinging lantern" forum to save hijacking other threads!
Pull up a sandbag...........
Wow, gosh this thread certainly took a different direction!
It went from asking if the commando's sweaters still issued to "Squaddies reminising about old gear." Great stuff guys!
Thanks a bunch! :)
TwoFourAlpha
05-09-2005, 20:21
'58 pattern webbing has got to be the worst equipment carrying system ever.
Ammo Pouches at the front? Blisters on thighs, and broken ribs when somebody shouts "CONTACT!! "
Gains about 5lb when it rains.
Large pack that ain't. Remember how to put it on? Hook it on and thow it backwards over your head- very tactical.
Oh, and you can stuff that NBC suit in a bumroll designed to hold a poncho- which is still in there too, no probs.
Looked quite smart when blocked out with cardboard in a locker layout- Wonder how it ever got approved?
However, worse than the webbing- the tin-pot helmet. Elastic 'comforter' designed to push your hair back into your scalp, and a big rivet in the middle, in case you ever got too comfortable.
On the other hand, I quite liked KF shirts, and resisted OGs as long as I could.
steven andrews
05-09-2005, 20:28
'58 pattern webbing has got to be the worst equipment carrying system ever.
Ammo Pouches at the front? Blisters on thighs, and broken ribs when somebody shouts "CONTACT!! "
I think 58 was great, with the exception of the large pack.
Ammo pouches were worn at your side. No blisters on thighs or broken ribs...
Beakytzw
05-09-2005, 20:50
I still have in an old wooden MFO box all the Issue kit you lot have mentioned, Even the shirt KF, My old maggot and 3 Jumpers would say 4, but my neighbours 2 year old is wearing it!
Phil
I remember running out of the block with only a couple of quid and a kebab list longer than my arm and a corporal that wanted change shooting at me with an air rifle.
Taught me how to avoid effective enemy fire!
Or shoving each arm into a rolled up sleeping mat and beating up another sprog whilst drinking in the squadron bar.
I just spent two weeks on Sa;isbury plain with my wooly pully for company , when one of the DS spotted me wearing it he remarked on what a good bit of kit it was :rolleyes:
addyb,
My two issue jersey heavy wool (wooly pully) were never used in the field due to the amount of starch that was on the elbow and sholder pads, I had one for parade on monday mornings and the other for the rest of the week when in long sleeve order. Are you looking for one, what size would you be if you are after one?
Brian
I think 58 was great, with the exception of the large pack.
Ammo pouches were worn at your side. No blisters on thighs or broken ribs...
Depends on your waist size I suppose :p
Brian,
Actually, I have one, a Canadian one. I got it brand new just before I graduated from cadets last year; a retired infantry officer came to our squadron with a huge duffle bag, dropped it in our NCO lounge and said "Have it it." So I grabbed a few things.
Anyway, one of the things I grabbed was a brand new wool commando sweater, still in it's plastic wrapper. It's green, heavy, VERY warm, and also water repellent. It has green poly-cotton reinforcements on the elbows and shoulders. I wear it under my Ventile when it gets cold here.
I was just curious if the sweaters were combat dress, or if they were relegated to garrison wear, but seems this thread has taken a different direction. :cool:
Just me and my insatiable curiosity!
Cheers,
A.
addyb.
My dad was a cadet during the early fifties when he lived in northern Ontario.
The only piece of uniform that they wore was a green peaked hat with fold down sides and a badge at the front.
He has a photo of him his brother and his best friend dressed in their mackinaws,snow shoes and carrying a 30-30 repeater rifle,going on 'manouveres' as my dad always calls it :D
I bet that the uniform is alot more modern these days :D
He told me that he use to wear a pair of woollen RCAF fighter pilots trousers that were wired up to batteries that you stowed inside your pockets!
P.S. you've created a monster :D
Well, now that you mention it, yes when I was in cadets, our uniform was more 'modern' in a way. But not really.
We wore a replica of the WWII RCAF and RAF blue uniform, the ones you see Michael Caine and Chris Plummer wearing in 1969's 'Battle of Britain." Right down to the boots, with the wedge, and wooly sweater. Summer dress was a blue oxford with black tie. Only difference is that today, in lieu of itchy wool, the air cadet uniforms are made of poly/cotton, which don't hold a crease worth a damn, no matter how much starch you put in them.
I was lucky in that I managed to get issued an older, regular cotton tunic and trousers, which were phased out when I first joined at 12. But you know how it is, when one uniform gets phased out, they keep issuing them until they fall apart, and that's when the poly/cotton ones came in. The plus side was that when I gradded (just over a year ago) my CO let me keep my old uniform, because by then, no-one else was wearing the old ones.
Heh, I still have mah boots too!
A.
If you want to keep a crease in your kit, use soap or glue stick along the crease!
Iron everything ,carefully, then go along the crease with soap/glue and press again.
We used to use soap on lightweights and shirts, and pritstick(gluestick) on jumpers, I still have creases in my wooly pully from '99!
steven andrews
06-09-2005, 10:50
Depends on your waist size I suppose :p
I was a 16 year old starved Infantry Junior Leader..30 inch waist.
swamp donkey
06-09-2005, 11:18
quote I was just curious if the sweaters were combat dress, or if they were relegated to garrison wear, but seems this thread has taken a different direction.
Now to be fair we did give you the answer before we began filling sand bags and swinging the lamp :D :rolleyes:
A point which may interest you is that they where issue to the whole Army. The Navy , Airforce and coastgaurd had them but in their own colours. The fire service had a V kneck version. ;)
NickBristol
06-09-2005, 11:20
If you want to keep a crease in your kit, use soap or glue stick along the crease!
Iron everything ,carefully, then go along the crease with soap/glue and press again.
We used to use soap on lightweights and shirts, and pritstick(gluestick) on jumpers, I still have creases in my wooly pully from '99!
Who here won't let their other half do their ironing still? Have to leave the house when mine (rarely) insists on doing it - I just can't bear to watch wonky creases and unpressed collars and that gut-wrenching fear of failing kit inspection comes flooding back... swear I can hear the RSM's boots approaching :eek:
Mostly back on thread briefly, norgies and smock are first choice... when I was about 7 my old man gave me one of his wooly pullies that mum had shrunk. I thought the itching was a punishment for something I'd done but not owned up to. Hated them frm that day on lol
www.strikeforcesupplies.co.uk
Have both black and green norgies for £15 not including p/p
p.s. no i dont work for them
BlueTrain
06-09-2005, 14:35
Well, they were still wearing them in the field when I was in the army. Only I was in a different army and we didn't have anything like it. I was in the US Army and greatly coveted berets, jerseys, blancoed web belts and all those beautiful cap badges, flashes, hackles, stable belts and all the other dingbats the British had. I don't think even the Canadians had half as much. I tried for years to get my hands on a jersey, finally succeeding around 1975. Only a few years later the US Marines adopted it and they were available everywhere.
I have even owned a KF shirt. I, uh, outgrew it. I have several pairs of puttees that I wear with my Boots, CWW, and Boots, DMS, but I don't generally blouse my trousers anymore.
For some reason, normal civilian wool sweaters (pullovers) are very scarce on the ground around here but the well known Yuppie outfitter, L.L.Bean sells genuine British made heavy wool sweaters in various woodsy shades of brown and green (but not plain olive green), complete with shoulder and elbow patches. German army pullovers are also easy to find in surplus stores but they are not pure wool and are prone to pilling. I don't think they wear them in the field either.
To speak to the original question, I have not seen one in any recent photo of British troops but I recall a photo of a soldier, a pioneer I believe, wearing a leather jerkin over his DPM combat dress. I do not have a leather jerkin, in case you were wondering.
brucemacdonald
06-09-2005, 15:15
Blue Train, taking your comment a bit further, I saw on TV last night footage of US Airborne troops in New Orleans (I think it was the 82nd). They were wearing maroon berets bearing an uncanny resemblance to those worn by our Parachute Regiment. Are the US forces nicking our uniform ideas? The reverse happens now, as barrack dress is a rare sight as most soldiers on base are dressed in BDUs.
Best wishes
Bruce
They have been wearing the maroon beret for quite some time nowand the rangers wear the sandy beret which looks alot like our Hereford boys.
Bluetrain, those jerkins you saw are for when your working with dannet coils of barbed wire.(stops you ripping your smock).
BlueTrain
06-09-2005, 16:17
They have been wearing the maroon beret for quite some time nowand the rangers wear the sandy beret which looks alot like our Hereford boys.
Bluetrain, those jerkins you saw are for when your working with dannet coils of barbed wire.(stops you ripping your smock).
Do you suppose the leather jerkins I referred to were original WWII type garments? Or something else?
Yes, the US Army is picking up the beret fashion from the British, who picked it up from the French. Long before the army went into khaki and olive drab, the US Army was also copying things from the French, and in some cases, importing French manufactured uniforms, mainly the Zouave pattern uniforms. The actual French units that wore such things were still wearing them, virtually unchanged, in 1939. The single unform item that the (American) Civil War soldier is so identified with, the kepi, is pure French. The French Alpine troopers that inspired the Royal Tank Corps (as it was then) to adopt the black beret still wear the same headdress in exactly the same way it was worn one hundred years ago (large and floppy). I can't think of anything in the US Army outside of West Point that is still the same as it was that long ago, uniform-wise, except perhaps for the dress belt and saber, which are not mentioned in the uniform regulations.
Which has nothing to do with Bushcraft.
They wore them in WW2 and have recently reissued them(last ten years) i think that they are leather.
They wore them in WW2 and have recently reissued them(last ten years) i think that they are leather but they have a modern mess on the back.
Okay, that's it, I'm getting out of this thread while I still can. ALIVE. :eek:
Big Geordie
07-09-2005, 21:17
My e bay special ( 99p) arrived today. Its Grade one and it bears the rank of colour sergeant||||| Excellent fit. :D
Think I might have some fun with this. Any of you old lags got a suggestion on how to make a couple of beers out of this? :D :D :D
George
bob_the_bomb
12-10-2008, 05:36
The 58 replaced the 37 set which apparently won the selection competition because it had the most brass involved so could be polished nicely...not to mention the use of 'blanco' (or 'sh*t in a tin') to clean it which was then nicely reinvented in green for the '58. barrack dress trousers were the bottom half of a replacement set of No 2 dress (with a pretty red sash instead of a belt) which thankfully never saw the light of day...never wore barrack dress myself unless at gunpoint for squadron photos etc
When I was a kid, I did a few stints of Industrial cleaning at a large car plant. Filthy and temporary work (but very well paid for a lad), you had your pick of clothing to wear, this included WW2 battle dress, leather jerkins and even WW2 para smocks, there were just mounds of the gear to choose from. I wish I'd put some of that gear away back in 1970
PS wooly pully are great IMHO
ScarletPimpernel
12-10-2008, 15:29
Being RAF, I had both blue and green woolly pullies; I also had a couple of green ones from my TA days, but for some reason they didn't have epaulettes. I much preferred the woolly pully to the hideous 'Thunderbirds' jacket that was the alternative for working dress.
I had a huge clearout last year, and discovered amongst nearly 30 years-worth of stuff (just why does it feel so good to 'win' kit?) not only a woolly pully, but also an aircrew 'bunny suit' - if Buffalo made romper suits, this is what they'd be like. It was worn under an immersion suit, and I acquired it after going flying with 7 Sqn's Canberras. A couple of useful bits of kit I still have is the aircrew roll-neck sweater - lightweight, warm and unmeltable, and my flying gloves. Apart from that, all I've kept is my flying suit, just for nostalgia.
The civilian wooly pullies that are popular for shooting and so forth are still very much in vogue, in suitable colours, with some officers for cool nights in the desert. Now I work with the military as a civilian, but can still deploy. Last time I was in Iraq, as I lay in my Corimec (all to myself), complete with aircon and heating, I often thought about the days I spent cold and damp in various exposed parts of the UK, watching hexi telly before trying to sleep sans kipmat (I remember when they were first issued), in a 58 pattern doss bag with large pack as a pillow.
One thing I have noticed is that kit today doesn't smell like it used to - even a brand new 58 maggot smelt utterly revolting, and all the clothes stank of mothballs.
On the other hand, I quite liked KF shirts, and resisted OGs as long as I could.
You must be kidding. It's a long, long time since I wore a KF shirt, hatred would be too weak a word to describe to the feelings I had towards those itchy abominations. I can still remember now when we were given GS shirts for the first time, I thought I'd died and gone to heaven...
If you want to keep a crease in your kit, use soap or glue stick along the crease!
Iron everything ,carefully, then go along the crease with soap/glue and press again.
We used to use soap on lightweights and shirts, and pritstick(gluestick) on jumpers, I still have creases in my wooly pully from '99!
We used to get the creases sewn into our lightweights and barack dress trousers.
Remember putting "KLEAR" floor shine on the toecaps of your DMS boots and watching them go blue in the rain??
I thought the wooly pully was one of the better bits of kit. At least it was warm when wet, which was its usual state given the porous nature of the issue combat jacket.
I feel very old as the kit I had in 86-92 seems to be all obsolete (58 webbing, SLR, LMG, Sterling, LAW 66, Gordons kilt, MOULD radios, etc, etc). I think Clansman radios are still on the go, but being phased out in favour of BOWMAN (Better Off With Map And Nokia).
Chitterne
20-10-2008, 19:37
Question:
The "commando" sweater, green, patches on elbows/shoulders.
Is it field gear, or is (was) it only for garrison wear?
A.
I know my answer is a little late in the day; but most of your respondents are discussing the merits of the Brit JHW (Jersey Heavy Wool!).
Having noted your location -and having spent 2 years on exchange with the Cdn Army a while back- sorry to say that the Cdn lookalike sweater (a much much darker 'unnatural' green than the JHW) was a garrison sweater -much like (in the pre-digital cam days) the Cdn camouflage jacket issued for barrack dress whilst plain OG was worn in the field!