Long Range Desert Group Coat on eBay

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http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI...m=110167686186&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=001

Bought from the guy's widow.

 

[dr greg]

LRDG

The best and probably only film about these guys called SEA OF SAND often pops up on the ABC here late at night. Great film. PLAY DIRTY was similar but a bit more fictionalised, and is also a pretty good war flick.

 

[Story]

Pardon my cynicism, but the seller should be able to easily provide the officer's name and a bill of sale from the widow.

 

[Alan Eardley]

This looks very like coats that were sold in the UK as 'Swedish Army surplus' in the 1960s and possibly before. That doesn't mean, of course, that it could not have been used by a member of the LRDG either during or after the war.

I don't know of any British issue item like this, but the LRDG was notorious for 'making up' its own kit.

Just to add that I have dealt with this seller and have found him/her to be reliable.

Alan

 

[Spitfire]

Exactly my thoughts.
(Even had one myself in the 60's - part of the hippie"uniform")

Then again - if you look deeper into this. In the Finland war against Soviet Union, some units had coats like that.
Even seen pictures of some german soldiers in Russia with coats similar to that...so, who knows?

 

[Micawber]

I to have bought from this seller too and found them to be ok. Shouldn't be difficult for them to provide some kind of provenance if it came from such a close relative though.

 

[Spitfire]

This is the swedish army coat from WWII:

And here is another picture - in a grey version - allthough the white one was the most common.

That's the coats we were all (some of us ) wearing in the 60's.
But could some of them have found their way to the dessert in 1941?

 

[Tommy Katkins]

This looks very like coats that were sold in the UK as 'Swedish Army surplus' in the 1960s and possibly before. That doesn't mean, of course, that it could not have been used by a member of the LRDG either during or after the war.

I don't know of any British issue item like this, but the LRDG was notorious for 'making up' its own kit.

Just to add that I have dealt with this seller and have found him/her to be reliable.

Alan

I've read quite a lot of unpublished diaries from the North Africa campaigns etc...and it seems that everyone was mixing and matching pieces of kit....I've seen pictures of in some uniform guide of British KD with the insignia swapped for Afrikakorps'. I'm sure many of you are familiar with it but there's good discriptions of this "making up" of desert attire in Keith Douglas' ALamein to Zem Zem...I wish I could lay my hands on it right now but I did have some snaps of a British NCO riding an ass wearing a yashmag and something like this garment...I think my mate had one of them or something similar, as I remember at the time we weren't at all sure what it was, I'll ask if he's still got it...

best wishes, TK

 

[Cobden]

c

I've bought from this seller before; never had a complaint, and everything he lists is always been accurate - he usually provides the officers name in question, but only to the buyer when the bidding has finished.

This type of coat was very common in North Africa - usually locally made, although the photo's I've seen they've been of a darker leather.

 

[BellyTank]

The eBay coat is sheepskin- the flesh side of the hide showing on the outside of the garment. The Swedish M1909 Field Coat is Canvas, with a sheepskin/fleece lining. The LRDG did use all kinds of "collected" special clothing.

Who knows.


B
T

 

[MrBern]

How authentic is the coat that EdHarris wore in Enemy at the Gates?

 

[BellyTank]

Not!

He should have been wearing the Windjacke-
Rather than the Swedish M1909.

You been at LB, Bern.

B
T

 

[Spitfire]

The eBay coat is sheepskin- the flesh side of the hide showing on the outside of the garment. The Swedish M1909 Field Coat is Canvas, with a sheepskin/fleece lining. The LRDG did use all kinds of "collected" special clothing.

Who knows.


B
T

My memory might play a trick here, but I am almost 99% certain, that my first swedish 1909 had an (almost)white fleshside out and no canvas.
Bought used.
While my next one - 10 years after - was a brand new - never issued - grey canvas type.

Not that it matters.

 

[BellyTank]

They were White, OD... whatever colour they were over-dyed.
I've not seen one without the canvas shell. The "sheep" one might not be an M'09 but something else- Finnish?

That photo above is Finnish troops, ikke?



BT

 

[Spitfire]

Yep - finnish.

 

[BellyTank]

When I lived in London, a few years back and frequented the Army Surplus stores and weekend market stalls, those Swedish coats could be had for as little as £30. But now, when I want one, the price has skyrocketed- Topshop, in London sold one for £250 and now they regularly sell for big money on eBay.

Bugger...

B
T

 

[Spitfire]

Must be because of the new iceage comming.lol

 

[Speedster]

My memory might play a trick here, but I am almost 99% certain, that my first swedish 1909 had an (almost)white fleshside out and no canvas.
Bought used.
While my next one - 10 years after - was a brand new - never issued - grey canvas type.

Not that it matters.

Your memory is not playing you a trick. They were available in the "white" fleshside out sheepskin and also in both white and grey canvas.

Standard hippie equipment back in the days.

This is the canvas one:

which you can get here for NOK 700.-: http://www.forsvarsbrukt.no/shopexd.asp?id=885

 

[cookie]

Long Range Desert Group Movie

The ABC just showed this movie and for some reaosn I had the ABC on at the time. Fantastic movie ...gripping. The sheep skin coats in the movie seemed to be less well made than this particular one...just a skin cut to measure. Where did those trucks come from? They would hav been better off with half tracks like the Afrika Korps.

 

[Alan Eardley]

The ABC just showed this movie and for some reaosn I had the ABC on at the time. Fantastic movie ...gripping. The sheep skin coats in the movie seemed to be less well made than this particular one...just a skin cut to measure. Where did those trucks come from? They would hav been better off with half tracks like the Afrika Korps.

Bedfords. More reliable than half-tracks.

Alan