Fall 2026 Militaria and Aviation Auction
Lot 264:
Description
1949 Pattern Battledress Blouse and Trousers Badged to the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry and 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division, Dated 1953 by John Hammond & Co. (1922) Ltd., with Cased Brass Pocket Cornet and Brass Bulb Horn Offered is a postwar British Army 1949 Pattern battledress blouse and matching trousers, badged with embroidered D.C.L.I. shoulder titles of the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry above the gold-on-navy wyvern formation patch of the 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division. The blouse’s interior label is fully legible, reading "Blouse, Battledress, 1949 Pattern, " Size No. 10, with War Department broad arrow and a 1953 date beneath the maker’s name, John Hammond & Co. (1922) Ltd. No individual soldier’s name, number, or separate biography accompanies the grouping; the story here rests entirely in the uniform’s insignia, tailor’s label, and the accompanying instruments rather than a documented personal narrative. Introduced in the years following the Second World War, the 1949 Pattern battledress was Britain’s first major postwar revision of the wartime uniform, retaining the practical wool serge construction of its 1937 and 1940 Pattern predecessors while adopting open lapels intended for wear with a collared shirt and tie. This example’s insignia dates it to the D.C.L.I.’s final decade as an independent regiment before its 1959 amalgamation into the Somerset and Cornwall Light Infantry. The 43rd (Wessex) Division’s wyvern, worn here on a Cold War-era battledress rather than the wartime pattern the division carried through Normandy and North-West Europe in 1944-45, reflects the formation’s continuation as a Territorial division into the 1950s, tying this uniform to the reorganized postwar infantry establishment rather than to wartime combat service. The khaki wool blouse has open lapels, pleated buttoned breast pockets, a fitted waistband with belt, and the D.C.L.I. and wyvern insignia sewn to the left and right upper sleeves. The matching wool trousers have flap pockets, button closures, and are cut to the same 1949 Pattern. The compact three-valve brass pocket cornet, its brass showing an attractive untouched patina, rests in its own fitted case lined in worn, stained velvet; no maker’s mark has been identified. The separate coiled brass bulb horn has a flared bell, riveted seams, and an aged, dried leather-and-rubber squeeze bulb; it appears to be a vintage signal horn rather than a piece of issued military kit. Also present is a length of striped webbing or braid visible folded with the trousers. Overall the uniform survives in very good vintage condition, with a clean, fully legible label, sound stitching, and crisp insignia. The brass instruments show heavy oxidation, verdigris, and handling wear consistent with age and storage; playing condition of neither has been tested, and the cornet case shows notable exterior scuffing and case-lining staining. A characterful, well-documented 1953 D.C.L.I. and Wessex Division battledress, its clearly dated tailor’s label anchoring the grouping precisely, paired with two brass instruments that broaden its appeal well beyond uniform collectors alone.
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