Appearance and Aesthetics
Physical Condition
We have already mentioned this being an important aspect of those wanting to join the group, but it is equally important for those current members. As a group, we wish to accurately represent the men of the British Airborne to the public as best as possible, this means more than just wearing the right clothing and kit. Whilst we do not expect the members to obtain the incredible levels of fitness that were expected of the British airborne, we do expect them to look the part. This simply means keeping body mass levels within a typical and acceptable range for military personnel. This is not about discriminating against overweight people, rather accurately representing what we are doing, and giving a great incentive for the members to stay in good shape. This will not be as strict as the military of course, if in doubt, contact us.
Weathering of Gear
At present, the group focuses on representing the 6th airborne on D-day and the following weeks. Therefore, we kit and clothing to look lived in and well worn, as well as showing some signs of combat, in terms of dirt, powder stains etc. Physical wear such as whole, rips and injuries are left to individual tastes and shoild be well considerd in terms of kit durability. All clothing should be washed at least a couple of times when new to take the shine off them (hand wash all wools carefully). Webbing, once blancoed will look new, though a day or two of wearing at a private event will have it looking the part.
Hair Styles
In the period, and still the case today, Army soldiers must be either clean shaven or have a moustache, beards and goatees and not permitted (with the exception of during desert operations). We must enforce this in order to represent the period accurately, just as we do with clothing. We will also accept stubble to represent days in combat without the time to shave. As for hair style, British soldiers did not have the shaved heads most people now associate with soldiers having watched so many US movies. British soldiers of the time had a fair amount of hair, but never longer than the ear lobe and top and always shaved to a taper on the back and sides, with short side burns. Anyone with longer hair should hide it ether in the headwear or inside the Denison smock and scrim veil.
Jewellery
The only jewellery permitted are a watch, of suitable period, and a wedding ring, all other jewellery is both inappropriate and dangerous in terms of snagging equipment.
Beret
The WW2 beret was much larger than the modern is, as well as worn in a slightly different way. Modern military doctrine means that the beret badge must be directly above the right eye and that the beret should be pressed hard over to the right side sot hat it almost appears glued to the side of the head, using a variety of techniques such as shaving and ironing to achieve the desired effect. Simply looking at the plentiful collection of original photos from the time, beret badges were worn in a variety of ways, and the caps, though worn off to the right side, were not anywhere near the extremes of modern regulation.
We have already mentioned this being an important aspect of those wanting to join the group, but it is equally important for those current members. As a group, we wish to accurately represent the men of the British Airborne to the public as best as possible, this means more than just wearing the right clothing and kit. Whilst we do not expect the members to obtain the incredible levels of fitness that were expected of the British airborne, we do expect them to look the part. This simply means keeping body mass levels within a typical and acceptable range for military personnel. This is not about discriminating against overweight people, rather accurately representing what we are doing, and giving a great incentive for the members to stay in good shape. This will not be as strict as the military of course, if in doubt, contact us.
Weathering of Gear
At present, the group focuses on representing the 6th airborne on D-day and the following weeks. Therefore, we kit and clothing to look lived in and well worn, as well as showing some signs of combat, in terms of dirt, powder stains etc. Physical wear such as whole, rips and injuries are left to individual tastes and shoild be well considerd in terms of kit durability. All clothing should be washed at least a couple of times when new to take the shine off them (hand wash all wools carefully). Webbing, once blancoed will look new, though a day or two of wearing at a private event will have it looking the part.
Hair Styles
In the period, and still the case today, Army soldiers must be either clean shaven or have a moustache, beards and goatees and not permitted (with the exception of during desert operations). We must enforce this in order to represent the period accurately, just as we do with clothing. We will also accept stubble to represent days in combat without the time to shave. As for hair style, British soldiers did not have the shaved heads most people now associate with soldiers having watched so many US movies. British soldiers of the time had a fair amount of hair, but never longer than the ear lobe and top and always shaved to a taper on the back and sides, with short side burns. Anyone with longer hair should hide it ether in the headwear or inside the Denison smock and scrim veil.
Jewellery
The only jewellery permitted are a watch, of suitable period, and a wedding ring, all other jewellery is both inappropriate and dangerous in terms of snagging equipment.
Beret
The WW2 beret was much larger than the modern is, as well as worn in a slightly different way. Modern military doctrine means that the beret badge must be directly above the right eye and that the beret should be pressed hard over to the right side sot hat it almost appears glued to the side of the head, using a variety of techniques such as shaving and ironing to achieve the desired effect. Simply looking at the plentiful collection of original photos from the time, beret badges were worn in a variety of ways, and the caps, though worn off to the right side, were not anywhere near the extremes of modern regulation.
