|
Canadian Usage
Canadian soldiers first wore khaki in the Boer War; it was introduced in
Canada as well, but was not authorized for wear within Canada until
after the First World War.
The term "Khaki Drill" came to refer to both the type of uniform, and
the cloth it was made from. KD material was generally a hard-wearing
denim, with items of Canadian manufacture typically having a golden
yellow hue as opposed to British uniform cloth which was browner.
Summer Dress, as it became known between the wars, consisted of shorts,
shirts and a jacket. These uniforms were worn in Canada during summer
months (generally May through September inclusive). For Other Ranks this
jacket was cut similarly to the Service Dress, with a stand and fall
collar, no rifle patches on the shoulders, and only two external
pockets, on the chest. Long puttees were generally worn with summer
dress. Officers wore uniforms patterned on officers' Service Dress, and
as their uniforms were privately purchased, some leeway was allowed in
matters of material and style.
During the Second World War, Other Ranks' pattern KD jackets were
replaced with a newer pattern, being an open collar design based very
closely on the new Canadian pattern open collared Service Dress jacket.
Long pants were also made in KD material to be worn with the jackets,
and web anklets replaced the puttees in some cases.
KD was not issued to soldiers going to the United Kingdom. KD, or Summer
Dress, was worn by Canadian soldiers in Hong Kong and Jamaica and other
tropical climates, as well as in Canada during summer months as
specified by commanders.
In Europe, Canadian troops serving in North Africa and later Sicily and
Italy wore British, Indian and US (War Aid) manufactured KD uniforms
exclusively, as Canadian KD was not sent to Europe due to limited
shipping space. British KD garments included a variety of uniform
components including Aertex shirts, shorts, jackets, and trousers. |
Officers Khaki Drill uniform, patterned
after the Service Dress uniform, as worn during the Second World War.
This example is from the gallery of the King's Own Calgary Regiment
museum at The Military Museums in Calgary. |
