Uniforms
On the inner wall in Aunt Kat’s room there’s a kind of ladder up to… – well, it’s not a proper attic, it’s just a low crawl-space under the eaves, really. Not much up here: just a few cardboard boxes that look like they’d contain clothes. Bring them down anyway for a look-see.
—
Yep, they’re the kind of custom-fit boxes you’d use for wedding-dresses, that kind of thing.
Except they’re not dresses. They’re uniforms, military-style uniforms. Women’s uniforms. This one looks exactly like that one in the photo-frame downstairs: fitted jacket, trousers, neatly folded with crepe-paper between. Oh yes, and matching skirt too. With bum-roll. Which places it squarely in the 1870s, or a decade at most either side of that.
Dress-uniform, I’d say – in good condition, though looks like it’s been worn for real a fair few times. Yes, it is that one from the photo: exact same rank and unit-badges. Yep, ‘Viner’ – whatever that is. And maker’s tag on the collar and the hem-line, and matching stamp on the boxes too: ‘Hobson and Daughters, Woolwich, South London / Clothing and Regimental Regalia / “From Head To Toe”‘. I think I’ve heard of them, they’re still around, they do school-uniforms as well as military? Could follow that one up, perhaps.
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Another box, smaller this time. Two hats. Caps. Head-gear. Whatever. Part of the same dress-uniform, at a guess. One a workmanlike cap, much like an engineer’s or gunner’s from that time. The other’s some kind of fussy bonnet that might match up with the skirt – but if the woman who wore that uniform was anything like Aunt Kat, she would have hatedthat.
Last box. It’s a fair bit bigger than the others, and a lot more battered. And this one has to be the work-uniforms that go with that dress-uniform: same vintage, same maker’s-mark, same rank and unit badges. Several sets, crammed in together, but still neatly folded with crepe-paper separators. Two different types, two-piece jacket and trousers, and a one-piece overall that looks surprisingly like the modern military fatigues. They’re all well-worn, one of the overalls with faint oil-stains – plant-stains? – that no amount of washing would ever be able to remove. There’s also a matching skirt that doesn’t look like it’s ever been worn at all. Someone didn’t like skirts, did she?
It’s all an absolute find, except for one great big catch: no such unit ever existed. I’m sure of it. No idea what to make of that.
On the inner wall in Aunt Kat’s room there’s a kind of ladder up to… – well, it’s not a proper attic, it’s just a low crawl-space under the eaves, really. Not much up here: just a few cardboard boxes that look like they’d contain clothes. Bring them down anyway for a look-see.
—
Yep, they’re the kind of custom-fit boxes you’d use for wedding-dresses, that kind of thing.
Except they’re not dresses. They’re uniforms, military-style uniforms. Women’s uniforms. This one looks exactly like that one in the photo-frame downstairs: fitted jacket, trousers, neatly folded with crepe-paper between. Oh yes, and matching skirt too. With bum-roll. Which places it squarely in the 1870s, or a decade at most either side of that.
Dress-uniform, I’d say – in good condition, though looks like it’s been worn for real a fair few times. Yes, it is that one from the photo: exact same rank and unit-badges. Yep, ‘Viner’ – whatever that is. And maker’s tag on the collar and the hem-line, and matching stamp on the boxes too: ‘Hobson and Daughters, Woolwich, South London / Clothing and Regimental Regalia / “From Head To Toe”‘. I think I’ve heard of them, they’re still around, they do school-uniforms as well as military? Could follow that one up, perhaps.
—
Another box, smaller this time. Two hats. Caps. Head-gear. Whatever. Part of the same dress-uniform, at a guess. One a workmanlike cap, much like an engineer’s or gunner’s from that time. The other’s some kind of fussy bonnet that might match up with the skirt – but if the woman who wore that uniform was anything like Aunt Kat, she would have hatedthat.
Last box. It’s a fair bit bigger than the others, and a lot more battered. And this one has to be the work-uniforms that go with that dress-uniform: same vintage, same maker’s-mark, same rank and unit badges. Several sets, crammed in together, but still neatly folded with crepe-paper separators. Two different types, two-piece jacket and trousers, and a one-piece overall that looks surprisingly like the modern military fatigues. They’re all well-worn, one of the overalls with faint oil-stains – plant-stains? – that no amount of washing would ever be able to remove. There’s also a matching skirt that doesn’t look like it’s ever been worn at all. Someone didn’t like skirts, did she?
It’s all an absolute find, except for one great big catch: no such unit ever existed. I’m sure of it. No idea what to make of that.
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