Military 'woolly pully' sweaters

[Harp]

I have remembered that the dark green WP colour we have been talking about is in fact RIFLE GREEN rather than ‘Bottle Green’.

Rifle green. Haven't heard that color properly spoke since 12th Special Forces days.
Ironically black was the official US Army WP color.
The Second World War WP knit came light, allowance so heat could dissipate when worn active service.
My Irish fisherman Standun while pleasantly warm, is much more so than my commando sweaters.

Coffee sweater muse. A delightful subject when one hasn't the chore of cold February Chicago.
In wayward reckless youth I recall a moment of temporary insanity when I said yes to a question
I should have been more mindful of; namely, would I be interested in travel UK: exchange selection
with the SAS. Later, in college I registered for an 08.30 AM German lecture. Also an act of insanity.
But the July forecast dunderhead mistake I ever made in youth was declining a gorgeous Lufthansa
stewardess' offer of buying me a drink in New York. That takes the cake.

See what thinking about a sweater can do when Covid restricted....

 

[STEVIEBOY1]

I have remembered that the dark green WP colour we have been talking about is in fact RIFLE GREEN rather than ‘Bottle Green’.

I have not heard of that before.

 

[Ticklishchap]

I have not heard of that before.

You learn something new every day. ...

 

[STEVIEBOY1]

I am in an Army WP at the moment.

 

[Harp]

I am in an Army WP at the moment.

Ditto. Casual Friday, dressed khakis and green commando, leather A2 jacket.
April in Chicago is unusually cold this spring but wearing the sweater around the office is always enjoyable.

 

[ItnStln]

Ditto. Casual Friday, dressed khakis and green commando, leather A2 jacket.
April in Chicago is unusually cold this spring but wearing the sweater around the office is always enjoyable.

That's an awesome combination, I dress similarly depending on the weather.

 

[STEVIEBOY1]

Ditto. Casual Friday, dressed khakis and green commando, leather A2 jacket.
April in Chicago is unusually cold this spring but wearing the sweater around the office is always enjoyable.

That does sound really good. I am in another Army WP today too, this time roll neck / turtle neck.

 

[Harp]

That does sound really good. I am in another Army WP today too, this time roll neck / turtle neck.

That is a new style, roll neck/turtle neck. I've been hunting for reasonably priced Royal Navy rolls w/o luck.

 

[STEVIEBOY1]

That is a new style, roll neck/turtle neck. I've been hunting for reasonably priced Royal Navy rolls w/o luck.

OUTDOOR KNITWEAR still have these Roll Neck / Turtle Neck Wool Sweaters on their website, for example
Chatham Woolly Pully Roll Neck Sweater £ 46.50
The do them in NAVY BLUE, BLACK, ARMY GREEN AND HEATHER MIX & I have each of these colours, today I am wearing the Black one. They also sell Submariner Roll Necks in Navy Blue and Ecru and I think maybe some other colours too. A newer addition to their range is are some Norwegian Roll Necks too.

 

[Harp]

^^^thanks
Always on the lookout for any new animals out there in sweater safari land.

My moth-eaten crew neck commando is a bit frayed. My neighborhood tailor is an ex-Marine with a talented needle,
so I'll have him do a stitchup save, and relegate it to backyard or pub wear.

 

[STEVIEBOY1]

I See that Outdoor Knitwear still have a sale on a number of their excellent sweaters.
I am in one of their Army WPs today.
Stay well and safe everyone.

 

[Ticklishchap]

I See that Outdoor Knitwear still have a sale on a number of their excellent sweaters.
I am in one of their Army WPs today.
Stay well and safe everyone.

... And I’m in one of their Black WPs (with Epps and pen pocket)!

 

[Musher]

At the Sportsman Guide

 

[STEVIEBOY1]

That is a very good price, especially as it appears to be pure wool.

I am happen to be in an Army WP at the moment.

 

[Ticklishchap]

I am wearing a Moss Green WP. It’s a hybrid style custom made for me on request by OK to add to my collection. ... It has a pen pocket on the left arm but no shoulder straps (epps), just plain patches. It’s a nice retro look - a throwback to the ‘70s.

It’s great that the weather has stayed cool enough to wear a WP every day. It’s often the end of the sweater season by now. Let’s cancel the hot months!

 

[STEVIEBOY1]

Here a few photos of me in some of my WPs.

 

[Ticklishchap]

Here a few photos of me in some of my WPs. View attachment 337129 View attachment 337130

You look as if you need a kit inspection!

 

[Edward]

How different is the colour from the Moss Green? I ask because I have had a number of dark green WPs over the years and think that the ones I had in the 80s were darker - a deeper shade of ‘bottle green’ than the later ones from Kempton and subsequently OKW. The darker ones might have been Bridgedale.
I have two Moss Greens currently, one with patches but no Epps, the other a Welbeck version. I am considering - at some point - either getting the version with Epps and pen pocket or asking OKW if they will introduce a darker shade of green than Moss.

Anything close to this? (This is a high-flash photo, the actual one would have been a little darker.) Not mine, one I found online: this is the RUC version I remember them wearing back in the 70s through 90s. They were worn on active duty usually when the full tunic was not required; Commonly this would have replaced the tunic, though still worn with collar and tie (hence the V neck), for police out on active duty when wearing a flack jacket as memory serves. There's an equivalent in use now with the PSNI as they are these days. It has a few more technical pockets, a higher man-made fibre count, and is officially listed as "showerproof". My sources also tell me that budget-cutting has led to a significant drop in quality in the uniforms these days, which is a shame.

While I can't imagine ever wearing one of these old RUC sweaters back in the Old Country, I've got half a mind to pick one up for those Winter days in the office when I want something that's a bit casual, warm, but still works with a collar and tie. No political statement of any sort, I always just loved the colour.

I wonder is that what you've referred to elsewhere as Rifle Green, or close to it? I remember back in the day it was known as "Black Green" in NI. Less obvious here, but the rest of the uniform had away of looking almost black in certain lights, til the sun caught it and it was clearly green. The actual colour is the same as the old Royal Irish Constabulary uniforms that pre-dated partition. The colour choice for Ireland is logical enough, though as far as I know the specific shade was chosen so as to be different than military green.

 

[Ticklishchap]

Anything close to this? (This is a high-flash photo, the actual one would have been a little darker.) Not mine, one I found online: this is the RUC version I remember them wearing back in the 70s through 90s. They were worn on active duty usually when the full tunic was not required; Commonly this would have replaced the tunic, though still worn with collar and tie (hence the V neck), for police out on active duty when wearing a flack jacket as memory serves. There's an equivalent in use now with the PSNI as they are these days. It has a few more technical pockets, a higher man-made fibre count, and is officially listed as "showerproof". My sources also tell me that budget-cutting has led to a significant drop in quality in the uniforms these days, which is a shame.

While I can't imagine ever wearing one of these old RUC sweaters back in the Old Country, I've got half a mind to pick one up for those Winter days in the office when I want something that's a bit casual, warm, but still works with a collar and tie. No political statement of any sort, I always just loved the colour.

I wonder is that what you've referred to elsewhere as Rifle Green, or close to it? I remember back in the day it was known as "Black Green" in NI. Less obvious here, but the rest of the uniform had away of looking almost black in certain lights, til the sun caught it and it was clearly green. The actual colour is the same as the old Royal Irish Constabulary uniforms that pre-dated partition. The colour choice for Ireland is logical enough, though as far as I know the specific shade was chosen so as to be different than military green.

Thank you for that Edward. I remember those RUC sweaters from the early to mid-80s. I was a teenager then and was going over to NI occasionally in the school holidays because I had family there. It was during that time when I started to wear the dark green version of the WP, which - as I said in my earlier post - was just slightly and subtly darker than the Moss Green. It was called Rifle Green or sometimes ‘Bottle Green’, the terms being interchangeable. I think that this is the colour of the sweater in your photo rather than the slightly lighter Moss - I have worn Moss for the last couple of decades at least as Rifle has been phased out.

In NI when visiting, I did not wear either the Rifle Green WP or the Army Olive Green but left those at home in England. I did wear the Navy version and that was fine!

Interestingly, Outdoor Knitwear are reintroducing Rifle Green in the autumn along with Sky Blue: being a WP aficionado I shall order them both. They are now phasing out Moss Green and having a sale, which means that if you’re happy with that colour you can snap it up at half price. This is why I bought a customised version recently - pen pocket but no shoulder straps. I have two other Moss Greens.

 

[Ticklishchap]