Evening star., 1901-12-14
BRITISH ARMY UNIFORMS
CLOTHES AND TRAPPINGS OF THE
KINGS SOLDIERS.
Various Military Articles and Orna.
ments Worn In English and
Scotch Regiments.
From the London Express.


The subject of military uniform is en-
gaging a great deal of attention jus. now.
The war Office authorities are actively con-
sidering the advisability of altering the
present patterns In use, with q view 1t is
said, to reducing the cost to the wearers.
This. at any rate, is the earnest desire of
all concerned, except, perhaps, the tailoring
fraternity, for, under the arrangements now
in force, 1t not infrequeatly happens that
an officer has a good deal more gold on his
back than he has in his pockets. Starting
first of all with the kit of general, the
usual charges for the principal items are
these: Tunic f25; mess jacket flo; waist
coat, f5; gold-laced overalls IS 5s; frock
coat, with shoulder cords and badges of
rank, flo los; cloak and cape, 20; dress
sash, rs IS. Cd; sword, with girdle and
sings, fS S., and cooked hat Is. One way
and another the complete uniform for an
officer of this rank will run away with
every penny of f130.
In that corps delte, the Royal Horse
Artillery, prices rule even higher. Thus, a
dress Jacket costs from f27, stable jacket
nom f1O sable busby with lines" and
plumes t2o l0s and a set of belts f20; and
SO on with everything else in proportion.
Altogether gunner's" outfit is not OBJ
tafrabie for much less than 600 under any
circumstances, while it is quite possible to
considerably exceed this estimate. The
Royal Engineers are treated with slightly
more consideration by the tailors. Still
their uniforms are anything but inexpen-
sive. For example, the price of tunic
varies according to the rank of the wearer)
from fl5 15s. to flo los, a mess jacket from
tlo TO II IS, and a cloak and cape from e.
TO t6 lbs. I'd. Other costly items with which
the sapper' has to provide himself include
pair of dress overalls at "a As, and a COM
p!ete set of belts at fl5. Boots and sad
dlery, in the case of those officers who per-
al hi far
further outlay.
What the Kit Costs.
Equally high prices rule in the various
"departmentar' branches, such as the med
ical, veterinary, ordnance and army service
corps. In each of these the average charge
for tunic is f10, for a mess Jacket IS for
a cloak and cape f. and for gold-laced
overal1s fl As. Roughly speaking, the COM
pfete kit of an officer in any of these
branches represents a cash value of at
least floO. The higher the rank of the
Wearer, however, the higher the cost or
MS uniform, for each step in promotion
br1ngS with it the necessity for an addi-
t1onal amount of gold lace on the collar and
sleeves of the tunic. A heavy bill on ac-
count of saddlery and horse equipment is
also incurred by the mounted officers in all
these corps. With regard to the main body
of the army-the infantry of the line-the
prevailing charges for outfit vary according
to the class of the regiment in question.
In Highland corps, for instance an outlay
Is incurred on account of such items as a
dirk skean dhu and sporran, &C. which
the ordinary linesman, fusilier or rifteman
is spared Again, a fusiliers headdress
will cost him some f12 12s as against the
f2 los. heiment of an officer in an ordinary
territorial regiment.
Expense of Killed Corps.
It may be stated, however, that 'kilted"
regiments are the most expensive of all
the territorial ones. The chief contribu-
tory factors to this are the feather bonnets
f1O 1Oso, doublets Qrom f13 13s.), and kits
G5) worn in them. Then, in addition to
these articles, officers in Highland bat
talions are called upon TO provide them
selves with shoulder plaids, brooches shoe
buckles and claymores. none of which items
are considered necessary In other infantry
regiments The principal articles of kit
with their average cost, for ordinary line
pattalions, are as follows: Tunic f10 to f1;
mess jacket, IA los; gold-laced trousers,
f3 iOs.; cloak and cape f6 6s. dress SASH
t3 los. and serge frock e. 3s. These with
the most of extras, which go to make
up the complete outfit, mean an expendf-
ture of at least f100. The Rifle Corps uni
forms, owing to the fact that no gold
lace is worn, are somewhat less expensive.
Ihey are anything but cheap, however,
for the component portions Of the neces-
sary outfit include a busby at f5, and a
cross belt and pouch with silver orna-
ments, at &c 6s.
The khaki clothing that is so much in
evidence nowadays is far more costly than
civilians are apt to imagine to be the case.
A patrol jacket, for example. figures In the
price list of a well-known firm at f3 3s.;
breeches at f2 los, and ordinary trousers
at fl los The charge, too, of half a guinea
for a pugaree and cover for helmet is
outrageous; one Of eighteenpence would
yield handsome profit to the manufac-
turer.