Medal ribbon

[John915]

Good afternoon,

Amazing find maxD, a lot of questions answered now. The only thing I would say is that as he read theology after resigning his commision, the jacket as it is must date to his time with the ACF on the IoM and in Oxfordshire.

The Dhofar campaign is most memorable for the actions of the huge Fijian guy who manned a 25pdr single handed at the battle of Mirbat. Can't remember his unpronouncable name offhand.

Again, an excellent find, keep up the good work. How about WAI 12

John915

[MaxD]

Exactly so John915.  Quote from his own letter When I resigned my commission I read theology at Oxford, was ordained in Wells Cathedral and for a few years served as an ACF Chaplain (RAChD) on the Isle of Man and in Oxfordshire. ...’ Signed John Evans.

This is pretty useful regarding the Dhofar campaign
http://www.55fst-ramc.org.uk/DATA%20FST/ADOBE%20FILES/Dhofar%20War%20John%20McKeown%20Full.pdf  Battle of Mirbat covered on page 71 et seq.

WA! 12???

maxD

[KGarrad]

I would expect that, in addition to being Chaplain of the ACF, he would have been appointed to a church here on the Isle of Man?

But nothing on www.imuseum.im

[Captain Clarke]

Worry ye not they are still attached as is the ribbon. The photo of the wings was taken from the internet. Will post a proper picture later.
P.

[MaxD]

Fine - normal para wings as worn by para trained personnel.  I guess John915's earlier request to see the wings was in order to establish whether they were these or SAS wings.

Now that we know who the uniform belonged to, could you recap for interest what you now intend to do with it?

maxD

PS - take care when looking for his trousers as officers' barathea jackets came in a multitude of slightly different shades and cloth weights (this is not an invitation to put a pic up for comparison!!).  The purist would ask the RAChD who their approved uniform supplier is (unless it is labelled in the jacket somewhere).

[Captain Clarke]

I have found that trying to find the right shade is nigh on impossible. My original idea was to recreate the original uniform for wearing to charity events.
I own a 1949 Packard and use this so an american uniform would be better. At the moment I'm really not sure as there appears to be some interesting provenance with this jacket. Any ideas welcomed

[Captain Clarke]

Better photo of actual wings.

[Ruskie]

Is it a rude question to ask how much you paid for the jacket? 

Might the trousers have been with it but displayed elsewhere (eg in the trouser section)? Would it be worth returning to the shop, searching the racks and asking staff if they recall it coming in?

[Captain Clarke]

Not a rude question at all. There was a pair of trousers with it but standard army 2 and were far too small to go with the jacket. 30 waist on the trousers and 42 chest on the jacket. £45 from an antique shop.
P.