CRITICISED UNIFORMS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22775, 8 July 1937, Page 15

CRITICISED UNIFORMS

| Sir, —Will you allow me to say that I I the New Zealand contingent to the j Coronation would be far more com- j fortable in their khaki uniforms and i look more like Empire defenders than j their Home brother soldiers. A scarlet j tunic with either white or buff fac- j ings and. navy trousers with a scarlet j side seam panel looks very nice in a i procession, but to the Tommy pipe- ! clay and bianco are a worry. Officers. ! not to mention the sergeants, keep a • sharp eye for the least speck of dirt 1 on a tunic and you are pulled up and j sent off parade to get it clean. Our | fellows did not want that difficulty j Further, they were sent to show the manhood and not clothes. They did not make a bad impression from all . reports, so why worry now? Ex-Sergeant. —— 'j Sir, —I -would like to say a word in I approval of the uniforms worn by the | men of the Coronation Contingent. Yes- j terday I inspected, a uniform on a I soldier an hour after he stepped off I the. train. I felt the material between , my fingers and thought how nice it i looked. Even the mogt fastidious per- j son could riot call it shabby. It certainly j was not "showy'' or mado of "Corona- j tion blue" as others 'were, but it was j not shabby. It -was mado of the finest ; woollen material, such as officers wear, j One man told me they were so particu- i lar about the fit of the uniforms that j he himself had to visit the tailor throe ; times. If uniforms were finished late ; -and sent on board ship, they would pro- ! bably belong to men chosen to replace those who were sent home from Well- i ington as unfit. They all had plenty of clothes and did not even have to provide themselves with pocket handkerchiefs. What more could one desire? The uniforms, underclothes, boots, etc., were all a present on arriving home. One soldier told me he bad travelled 6000 miles on the English railways. Fares were very cheap and they travelled for half-price. He also told mo 1 that -while on guard at the Palace he had presented arms as the Queen passed bv. Not Shabby.