World War 2 Nurses cape and garrison cap

[PaidInFull24]

Hi all,

Does anyone have any experience with World War 2 Army nurse uniforms? Today in an antique store I purchased a navy blue 100% wool nurse cape and matching navy blue garrison cap with red piping. The cape and garrison cap are both marked "C.E. Ward Co. New London, Ohio" the cape is a two latch closure consisting of two separate pieces of wool that fasten on both sides of the midline by a single button. On the collar of the cape are the initials that appear to be "St. J.K." or "St. J.G." The lettering is very fancy and the letters are bullion. There are also matching initials on the garrison cap. I have heard that if there are initials on the collar of the cape that it is a civilian cape rather than a military cape, however, I would think the garrison cap would signify that it was a military issue, as a nurse in a civilian hospital would not wear a military-style garrison cap as part of her uniform. The inner lining of the cape is a beautiful red, which matches the red in the piping on the garrison cap. If anyone could advise it would be most appreciated! From the bit of research I have done, I derived that in the early war years, nurse uniforms in the Army were navy blue, however around 1943-1944, the United States switched to the olive-drab color uniform. Thanks in advance for your knowledge! Unfortunately, I have not yet gained the ability to post pictures on this forum or else I would gladly post pictures.

-Nick

 

[MPicciotto]

Could it be Red Cross from the same era?

Matt

 

[scotrace]

Can you link pictures? Is the cape lined in red?

 

[Sgt Brown]

The cape is definitely civilian. The lettering on the collar signifies the hospital she was at (Saint ?). Also, the lining on ANC capes and the piping on caps was maroon, not red.

During the war, much civilian dress took on a decidedly military look. Could the overseas cap be an example of this?

No matter what, that is NOT a military nurse cape. (Been burned on that myself.)

Tom

 

[Steven180]

Fortunately it sounds as if some well read advice is already being posted here, wish I could be of ore help in this department but I have no historical expertise on this area.

However, below is an exceptional sight that I often recommend to people for an insightful, enthusiastic reference for women's service's in the Second World War. Maybe it, or the author, can be of use in the future.

http://www.blitzkriegbaby.de/homepage.htm

Best,
M.

 

[PaidInFull24]

Hey guys,
Thanks so much for all the quick replies. The cape is lined in red (it looks red to me, but I guess it could be maroon as I have nothing to compare it to.) I suppose it could be red cross from that time period however I don't see any evidence of there having been a red cross patch attached at any time on the left chest. I found one website that said that the blue and red garrison cap was standard issue to military nurses starting in 1929, could it be that that is when the cape and cap were issued? The cap is definitely a military spec garrison cap. Tom, could it be that the cape is pre WW2 or very early WW2 and the lettering was added immediately post war? Or possibly were there any military hospitals with the "St. ---" name? Again, I don't see why a civilian nurse would wear a garrison cap as part of her civilian uniform unless the garrison cap had been previously issued to her during some form of military service. Does anyone have any info on the uniforms of civilian nurses of that time period?

 

[fortworthgal]

I'm a reenactor & collect WWII US women's military uniforms. I own just about every piece of Army Nurse issued clothing from the WWII era.

As others have said, the cape is definitely civilian. I have seen many male collectors & resellers make that mistake. Still a nice item, though! Civilian & military nursing uniforms of that time were quite similar. White cotton dress, white cotton cap, blue wool cape. That said, during training, many Army Nurses wore civilian nursing garments due to shortages of military uniforms. It is also entirely possible that the cape & hat belonged to the same lady, who perhaps wore the cape as a civilian nurse before joining the service. (Nurses in the Army & Navy Nurse Corps weren't trained by the military - you had to already be a Nurse to enlist.)

Letters on the collar indicate a civilian cape. The capes were typically awarded at graduation and had the initials of the hospital the nurse would have graduated from. Military nurses would have already graduated nursing school by the time they entered the service. I believe this style of cape was worn up into the 1960s or even 1970s.

I have never seen a civilian blue wool nurse's garrison cap, and I don't know of anything of that type that would have come with a civilian wool nurse's cape. The *only* blue wool Nurse's garrison cap I am aware of is the one that would have gone with the early WWII uniform. If that is what you have, it is a nice find, as those typically run over $100 just for the cap - and that's if you can find one.

The blue uniforms worn by Army Nurses was the M-1940 and is pretty rare. It was worn up until mid 1942, when they switched to OD, but many nurses wore them through the end of the war. I own one, and my garrison cap has red piping, not maroon. The cap for this uniform was dark navy blue wool and sometimes piped in red or maroon. I have also seen them with officer gold & black piping, and often with no piping at all. There were a *lot* of variations.

I'd be really interested in seeing a photo of the cap, if you have one.

 

[PaidInFull24]

Here are some pictures of the garrison cap and matching cape. Both are made by the C.E. Ward co, the reds and blues match on both the garrison cap and the cape. Both have bullion initials on them "St. J.G." or "St. J.K." What do you guys think?



Uploaded with ImageShack.us



Uploaded with ImageShack.us



Uploaded with ImageShack.us



Uploaded with ImageShack.us



Uploaded with ImageShack.us



Uploaded with ImageShack.us





Uploaded with ImageShack.usUploaded with ImageShack.us

 

[PaidInFull24]

The blue uniforms worn by Army Nurses was the M-1940 and is pretty rare. It was worn up until mid 1942, when they switched to OD, but many nurses wore them through the end of the war. I own one, and my garrison cap has red piping, not maroon. The cap for this uniform was dark navy blue wool and sometimes piped in red or maroon. I have also seen them with officer gold & black piping, and often with no piping at all. There were a *lot* of variations.

Fortworthgal,

Just curious, what color is the inner lining of the M-1940 cape that you have? Is it red or maroon?

-Nick

 

[Sgt Brown]

I have a military nurse historian friend. I'm going to hit her up for any info she might have on this.

Also, how about a close-up of the embroidery on the collar of the cape?

Tom

 

[PaidInFull24]

Hey Tom,

Thanks for all your input! Another set of eyes would be awesome. Here are some pictures of the embroidery on the collar of the cape and also the left side of the garrison cap. It should be noted that the same initials appear on both the right and the left collar of the cape. I have seen pictures of civilian capes that have the school on one side and then "S.N." on the other for "Student Nurse" As I mentioned before the stitching on both the cap and the collar of the cape is bullion and both are done in the same script. I believe it to be an american issue cape because the tag on the inside specifies that it was made in "New London, Ohio" unless the United States would manufacture uniforms and export them to other countries during the war. Here are the pics. Any comments are much appreciated!

Here is a picture of the embroidery on both the collar of the cape and the garrison cap:


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Here is a picture of the right collar of the cape. The left collar of the cape is identically embroidered. Can anyone decipher what the last letter in the initials is?


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

And finally the embroidery work on the left side of the garrison cap.


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

 

[Bluebird Marsha]

I'm no expert in calligraphy, but that last letter looks like an "h". Whatever the verdict, it's a beautiful set.

 

[Sgt Brown]

I'm going to vote for J.K.

I did some checking and C.E. Ward Co was a major manufacturer of uniforms for fraternal organizations.

Tom

 

[MPicciotto]

Just throwing this out there. Nurses weren't the only ones with capes:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/250858059431?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

Here is a 1942 picture of a Salvation Army female Soldier (Lassie) wearing a similar but obviously different cape.

Matt

 

[LaMedicine]

I suggest you post this in the Powder Room as there's likely someone who's familiar with these items . Since the subject is womens' clothing, it's quite fine for men to post there.
I believe very few ladies visit the WWII forum, so you won't get much reaction from the ladies if you keep this thread here.

 

[PaidInFull24]

I suggest you post this in the Powder Room as there's likely someone who's familiar with these items . Since the subject is womens' clothing, it's quite fine for men to post there.
I believe very few ladies visit the WWII forum, so you won't get much reaction from the ladies if you keep this thread here.

Thanks for the input LaMedicine. I will definitely think about also putting this post in the powder room forum. I do, however, greatly appreciate the input from all the posters in this forum regarding this piece so I will be keeping it in this forum as well.

Tom- very interesting research on the C.E. Ward company. I wonder if it might have been produced for some sort of organization other than the military. That garrison cap still has me stumped though. I have done alot of looking and haven't found where any other organizations issued garrison caps as part of the uniform. Certainly a stateside nurse would not have worn one unless she were stationed in a military hospital somewhere. Ftworthgal said the overseas cap that she had had red piping rather than maroon. If I'm not mistaken (please correct me if I'm wrong), nurses who entered the service during the war entered as officers, making them responsible for obtaining their own uniforms. Could it be that in the initial shortage of the navy blue nurse uniforms, this nurse went out to the C.E. Ward company and had a uniform tailored to her in accordance with military specs? I know that it was not uncommon for male officers to go to a tailor shop and have a uniform custom made for them during that time period. Any thoughts?

 

[PaidInFull24]

Fortworthgal,

Have you gotten a chance to look at the pics yet? If so, what are your thoughts? Does this garrison cap look anything like the one that you have?

Regards,
Nick

 

[Sgt Brown]

(Snipped) That garrison cap still has me stumped though. I have done alot of looking and haven't found where any other organizations issued garrison caps as part of the uniform. Certainly a stateside nurse would not have worn one unless she were stationed in a military hospital somewhere.

My point is that YES, a stateside nurse might have worn a garrison cap! It was wartime, folks, and many organizations jumped on the bandwagon with military-style uniforms. What is to say that the head administrator of St. J.K. Hospital didn't want "his" nurses to portray a more martial appearance. Or, if not the nurses from St. J.K., what about the aides? The possibilities are endless.

DO post this over in the Powder Room.

Tom

 

[fortworthgal]

In my opinion neither the cape nor the cap are military issue, or privately tailored items worn by military members.

I also believe the last letter is "H" which would make perfect sense, as most times the embroidery would be the name of a hospital. St. Joseph's, St. John's, whatever. A military nurse would never have had this type of embroidery done on her uniform, even a private purchase one. The three initials inside the cape would have been the nurse's own initials.

The cap is also shaped differently than the M-1940 Army Nurse's issue caps. They had a very distinct curve at the top of the cap and were somewhat tapered at the rear. The curtain is also on the wrong side for a female military issue cap. The curtain fold should be on the wearer's left side. I believe men's caps have the curtain on the right.

The blue M-1940 uniform was difficult to obtain and at first was only issued to nurses with overseas orders. I have not heard or read any accounts of privately tailored M-1940s. Not say it never happened, though.

I also do not believe it is American Red Cross (their capes had a distinct patch on the front, and would have had a different cap) or Salvation Army, or any other fraternal type organization.

My very strong belief is that this was a civilian cape & cap, worn by a civilian nurse at a civilian hospital. I would guess it was during wartime, when many civilian organizations (as someone posted earlier) took on military appearances in their uniforms. The blue wool cap could have been made for outdoor wear with the cape, as opposed to the starched white cotton "indoor" nurse's cap.

You can try the Powder Room, although I don't know how many uniform collectors there are among the ladies there, as much of it focuses on civilian clothing & styles.

I still don't think you made out badly at all. Even vintage civilian nursing capes are not inexpensive items, and with a cap like that, I think it is a very unique and interesting find.

Fortworthgal,

Just curious, what color is the inner lining of the M-1940 cape that you have? Is it red or maroon?

-Nick

I don't have an M-1940 cape. I have the blue wool overseas cap. The only cape I have is the later (and longer) OD wool version.

 

[MPicciotto]

The cap is also shaped differently than the M-1940 Army Nurse's issue caps. They had a very distinct curve at the top of the cap and were somewhat tapered at the rear. The curtain is also on the wrong side for a female military issue cap. The curtain fold should be on the wearer's left side. I believe men's caps have the curtain on the right.

I was wondering about the cut of the cap. It looks very much to me like a mens one. The shape you described of the 1940 Nurses cap I believe extends to most Women's "overseas" caps.

Matt