NEW ARMY UNIFORM.

Press, Volume LXIX, Issue 20789, 24 February 1933, Page 8

NEW ARMY UNIFORM.

- AN EXPERIMENTAL PLATOON. . Inou ou* otvx coaaBSPONDEax ) LOXDON, January 10. The first comprehensive idea of the appearance of a platoon in the experimental dress which is being tested during the whole of this year's military training programme was afforded at Aldershot yesterday (writes the correspondent of "The Times"), when the experimental platoon of the 2nd'Battal ion, the Queen's Royal Eeginient, took part in normal training operations. The new uniform,' which embodies revolutionary changes, will be' worn only for training purposes, and the 50 non-com-missioned officers and men forming the experimental platoon will wear ordinary uniform on all other occasions. The now two-piece pack appeared to be decidedly comfortable when the men were "on the march. Although this pack is little, if any, lighter than the present one, the weight is distributed to better effect, and it has tho additional advantage of being quickly separable. Deerstalker Hat. Marching about half a mile to Rushmoor, tho platoon, which was under a colour, aergeaat, .split up into rifle and

light automatic sections, and carried out ordinary battle formations over rough ground. There was no rain to test, the protection given by the uniform against the weather, but the deerstalker type of hat seemed to shield the eyes effectively against the sun. Four men demonstrated the use of the short-handled spades carried by each individual, which are a survival of the entrenching tools carried in the war. Lying On their stomachs, the men showed how it is possible to secure head protection by rapid manipulation of the spade, even in that awkward position. Half the platoon wore short canvas leggings over the extreme end of their trouser legs, and the remainder had shorts with puttees below a hose top which covers the knee. Both types are to be tested during the training period. Gun metal titles and buttons are features of the uniform, and the ordinary regimental cap badge is replaced by an oblong disc, more, in keeping with the deerstalker hat, which is one of the most sweeping of the suggested changes. Queen's Cambridge, has lost it& famous walnut tree, 350 years old. A giant fungus out of the trunk ir.st year;, and led to the discovery that the tree was rotten n.nd unsafe. Down it had to come. No more will this great tree's branches shelter the crocuses in the.spring. It will be sadly missed, and. what is more, a successor cannot be planted for at least seven years, till the ground is cleared of the furtgoid growth.