RN Whites Orders

[Hammers]

Under which orders would the Royal Navy be wearing whites? Tropical shore leave? Guard duty?

[carlos marighela]

Hot weather stations. the only real difference for a landing party would be carriage of small arms, web equipment and maybe a battle bowler, oh and gaiters were sometimes worn.

[Hammers]

I would have assumed khaki gear for landing parties.

[carlos marighela]

Not if we are talking interwar. Shorts were often worn in hot weather. I have a fabulous photograph in a book on the China Station which shows a landing party in shorts, solar topees, full '08 webbing and small arms.

[Hammers]

Not if we are talking interwar. Shorts were often worn in hot weather. I have a fabulous photograph in a book on the China Station which shows a landing party in shorts, solar topees, full '08 webbing and small arms.

We are talking interwar.

[Plynkes]

I would have assumed khaki gear for landing parties.

Jack Tars and khaki don't mix well. In situations where they are put into it they can get into all sorts of bother. Especially with puttees, something alien to the seafaring man. Tommies falling about laughing at the mummy-like unraveling of sailors' puttees is something that has stayed in my mind, though I forget exactly where and when this was. Ostend and Zeebrugge raids perhaps.

[Hammers]

Jack Tars and khaki don't mix well. In situations where they are put into it they can get into all sorts of bother. Especially with puttees, something alien to the seafaring man. Tommies falling about laughing at the mummy-like unraveling of sailors' puttees is something that has stayed in my mind, though I forget exactly where and when this was. Ostend and Zeebrugge raids perhaps.

So basically I could paint up Regiment Games RN Naval Party and do them in white? The cut of the blues and whites were roughly the same? Shorts weren't necessarily worn?

[Plynkes]

That's what I'm doing for my 1920 Somaliland project, representing landing parties from the gunboats Odin and Clio. I plan to give them a mix of Woodbine Wolseleys and Navy cap heads. They could well have been in shorts in reality (seems likely), but I shall not worry about that detail too much (the only uniform details I have for such troops in Somaliland has them in trousers, but that is for an earlier, pre-war campaign).

[Hammers]

Great, Plynkes. Can't wait to see your conversions.

[Arlequín]

What was worn was at the discretion of the Captain of the ship they came from. Daily orders would include the dress (rig of the day) to be worn by all ranks. If the boss said trousers, everyone wore trousers etc (unless in 'boiler suits' for work duties). The tropical white uniform was of the same cut as the blue temperate one. The other option was to wear the white undershirt, with white shorts and blue socks (ORs) or white shirt, shorts and socks for POs and deck officers.





   

In theory landing parties from a number of ships might each be dressed to the whim of their individual Captains, but they would usually go with whatever the commander of the group of ships had chosen for his own.

Until around 1942, the 1908 webbing (Blancoed Khaki?) was used with the SMLE No. 1 or in some cases the MLM. The Lewis Gun was issued to shore parties well into WW2. The navy also had its own gaiters, which went to just below the knee (like the early war U.S. army style) - these were Khaki on home service, but I don't know about overseas.

 

[carlos marighela]

To the best of my knowledge the  longer style gaiters were khaki everywhere. The later short gaiters, could be blancoed white or polished black for parades, according to order of dress. Bloody awful job polishing gaiters.

If you are moderately skilled with file, green stuff and paintbrush you could convert the Copplestone British Infantry to RN in tropical rig. Just change the puttees to socks and  adjust the shirt slightly. The photo I have of a RN landing party in China circa 1928 shows them in this rig, with full '08 webbing (apparently khaki) and tropical helmets. The webbing even has the samll pack attached, although it appears empty on all the figures in the photo.

During the Great War, matelots sported a variety of small arms due to more pressing needs being felt elsewhere. Quite a few Arisakas were issued as an emergency measure.