The Evolution of British Army Uniforms Through History

'The Evolution of British Army Uniforms Through History'

The British Army is one of the world’s most experienced fighting forces. From Blenheim to Waterloo, from Balaclava to the Somme, it has played its part in the history’s most bloody conflicts. But as these troops executed Herculean tasks in the worlds harshest terrains, what were they wearing? How did epaulettes, sashes, pantaloons and wellington boots end up clothing British troops on the battlefield?

From primitive to protective, from efficient to downright extravagant, over the years, military clothing has both enabled and inhibited objectives, and the uniform we see today is the result of 400 years of spectacular trial and error.

History Hit's Alice Loxton was recently joined by Sophie Anderton, as they answer these questions through the secrets of the National Army Museum collection.

#BritishArmyUniforms #WarUniforms #Redcoat

[rhettcorcoran]

Fascinating video, I served in the British army from the early seventies until 2013, I always wondered about the evolution of our uniforms, I also wore some quite hopeless bits of uniform, however by the mid 2000's the uniforms had a pragamatic sense of

[markharlock]

One correction: The Women's Royal Army Corps (WRAC) was formed in 1949, ie after WW2. Prior to that it was the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS). My mother Christine Leslie served in the ATS (attached Intelligence Corps) as a sergeant, working on 'traffic analysis' in signals intelligence. She served at a number of secret locations, including Bletchley Park (Hut 6) in 1944/45, only talking about her service in later life. As a family we are very proud of her contribution to the war effort. She passed away only last year (2020) at the age of 96. Her older sister Sylvia also served in the ATS (attached Signals) during the same years of the war.

[DavidSternburgYt]

Sidenote, it wasnt an immediate change from musket to bolt action rifles, the martini-henry rifle was a breech loader, single shot trapdoor mechanism rifle that replaced the british army's muskets which intern was replaced by the bolt action rifle we see here (I believe its a Lee metford rifle)

[GaudiaCertaminisGaming]

Totally missed the most important aspect of the change from tunic to battle dress. The latter was designed for use in a mechanised army - troops that would spend a lot of time in vehicles. The battle dress allows you to bend at the waist, it was considered more comfortable to sit in.

[desthomas]

The Epaulettes were designed to hold bandoliers and cartridge boxes in place and stop them from falling off the shoulder, fringes on them were put officers outfits
and came from the fringes on the scarves or sashes.

[alanlawson]

The Buffs - indeed, known by their facing colour. Specifically, there were two Regiments at the time who hasd a Colonel called Howard; this caused confusion, so they were differentiated by their facing colours. One was the Buff Howards, known as the Buffs, and the other was the Green Howards.

[andraslibal]

17:14 What you call an austrian knot is actually Hungarian hussar knot and it had an original function of stopping saber cuts before it became ornamental.

[frankryan]

They skipped one important thing-the olive green combat uniform that was introduced after battle dress and before DPM.

[victornewman]

Battledress was a product of the move toward "utility" clothing beginning with Jaeger's onesies in early 19th C, the great thing about woollen BD is that even when wet, you stay warm (hence movement toward merino first layer by SF/ infanteers)!

[chrisblackwood]

Wonderful content, as always. Keep it up! The YouTube revival is severely underrated, and I have a feeling that if you guys stick through it, you can be one of the great channels on the platform.

[LaHayeSaint]

Both you ladies really made this display come alive! Thank you!

[anandmorris]

I was waiting for Richard Sharpe's uniform!
On a serious note, i would live to see a vid on Royal Navy uniforms; i always thought they looked awesome.

[memeone]

24:20 that's a combat 95 shirt. Came into service around 95-98.

[catherinespencer-mills]

My ex was in the US Marines. They switched from heavy cotton olive drab fatigues to jungle camouflage in a lighter material. Much nicer as I didn't have to iron them. He did have the dress blues, tailored to him, the neck collar nearly chocked him every time. I had to help him put the wool coat on, it was that tight.

[thegray]

Sophie Anderton is incredibly articulate and well spoken, the BBC should keep her in mind for corespondents.

[derin]

Amazing how small by modern standards all the torsos (chest and abdomen) of those older uniforms are….and it’s not really that long ago!

[ziggurat-builder]

Thanks, I enjoyed this.I am a Victorian re-enactor, so was interested in your Boer War uniforms.

[Burvedys]

Got British Army trousers - the best cargo pants I've ever had! Like half-century old design and still good to use.

[lexilou]

My brother is serving, Christmas this year he asked me to sew velcro strips on his sleeves. I am now taking that as me being a part of military uniform history...

[notmenotme]

21:30 No mention that the steel Brodie helmet was introduced after it was found that a very large number of the casualties were from head injuries caused by artillery shrapnel. The brodie helmet shape was chosen because it was the most simplest and economical to produce.