then i wont bother, tried it twice ,with super glue, then with sewing it and both times it looked awfull.
yeah... I don't bother now... not until I get the right cloth anyway!
lol... I saw a guy on Sunday with a piece of cardboard behind his S.Staffs cap badge
yeah... I don't bother now... not until I get the right cloth anyway!
lol... I saw a guy on Sunday with a piece of cardboard behind his S.Staffs cap badge
did it look ok tho ?,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
lol... okish... but looked daft close up
To my knowledge it should be *all* i'm sure war neccessities meant some blokes didnt bother or had replacement cap badges but got no cloth.
Basically its a massive regimental tradition (any one whose served will know how incredibly important these are).
The regiment was stationed in the west indies years ago and were essentially forgotten by the government and had to make their replacement uniforms form sack cloth and mail bags.
"Holland Patch - Authorised for the South Staffords in 1935 and commemorating 57 years continuous service of the 38th Foot in the West Indies. It represents the local cloth, a sort of sacking, which the Regiment used for waistcoats and to line their tunics - possibly the first known use of tropical uniform."
If it isn't on it *should* be just cos its missing doesn't make it right 
Sgt Heide will tell you, he was a Stafford too.
"I think we are in rats' alley - Where the dead men lost their bones."
Gadge is absolutely right. It's one of my old regiments' proudest traditions. In fact, the 38th foot were "forgotten" for so long, that by the time the powers that be got round to going and checking on them, not only were their uniforms made from sack cloth, but their SONS had taken over garrison duties because the original men were either too old or too dead to soldier on.
In my day, if anyone didn't have the backing on his cap badge, he was put on a charge for being incorrectly dressed! A lot of guys DID use hessian on their cap badges and stuck it in place with clear contact adhesive, like evo-stick. I'll see if I can dig my old one out and post a picture up.
When I want your opinion - I'll tell you what it is!
Any idea where to get this Holland cloth from? Or can someone buy half-a-metre and flog bits off to the rest of us?
You've got nothing to ein, zwei, drei, vier
working on it stiener,,, working on it
Good man!
You've got nothing to ein, zwei, drei, vier
Any idea where to get this Holland cloth from? Or can someone buy half-a-metre and flog bits off to the rest of us?
I think Ranj had found a supplier and got a sample, not sure what thread it was in though.
*edit* this thread here:
http://www.ww2airsoft.org.uk/php/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=4859&st=0&sk=t&sd=a
i remember that evo, i am seeing a guy in sheffield on monday, he has never heared of holland cloth, but when i described it to him he said he has stuff like that, so i will get a few samples.
An interweb search shows that 'Holland cloth' is just a stiffish brown linen:
The Dutch were seen as serious competitors by the English, not only in the exploitation of the rich resources of India and the Far East, but also in the field of linen manufacture. The struggle over the former is recounted in the article on EAST INDIA, but the latter is dealt with here, largely because Holland and HOLLAND CLOTH became generic terms covering good-quality, plain-woven LINEN produced not only in Holland itself, but also in the large hinterland that sent its linen to Amsterdam for whitening (hence the frequent mention of WHITED with regard to Holland and holland cloth) and thereafter for export.
HOLLAND, a cloth so called from the country where it was first made. It was originally a fine plain linen fabric of a brownish colour - unbleached flax. Several varieties are now made: hollands, pale hollands and fine hollands. They are used for aprons, blinds, shirts, blouses and dresses.
plainwoven unbleached or dull-finish linen used as furniture covering or a cotton fabric that is made more or less opaque by a glazed or unglazed finish (called the Holland finish), consisting of oil and a filling material. Originally the name was applied to any fine, plainwoven linens imported from the continent of Europe, and especially to the product obtained from The Netherlands. Holland is used for window shades, insulation, labels and tags, sign cloth, and the like. In Greece a number of coloured cotton fabrics are also known as hollands.
Heh, that chap you saw with 'cardboard' behind his badge Yith may very well have had the right thing - it just looks like cardboard!
And indeed, looks like the stuff Ranj has...
thats what my contact said his stuff was, good quality woven linen in a neuteral colour( brownish tan) used as backing material and in upholstery .
"Several varieties are now made: hollands, pale hollands and fine hollands"
Uh oh.... this is going to become another blanco thread...!! 
You've got nothing to ein, zwei, drei, vier
Hah, you could be right Steiner! Probably all mixed up in time, possibly 'Holland' cloth being either inaccurate description or a misnomer as the tales are definitely of buff course sack material, as Gadge has seen...
Col. Lillingstone took his unit to Ireland and then to the West Indies in 1707. There it remained until 1764, the longest overseas posting of any regiment in the British Army. Clothing wore out and the only alternative was the local sugar sacking. This is commemorated in the 'Holland Patch' of coarse sacking worn behind the cap badge and on the collar badges of The Staffordshire Regiment.
Took me a while to find my old cap badge! Here's a picture. I know it's a "modern" badge but the backing is the same as it's always been.
When I want your opinion - I'll tell you what it is!
Woot - mine is right then...
thats hessian or i am a dutchman ( get it ?) maybe it was holland cloth once, but seeing as the army has thousands of miles of hessian in its stores i think it would be used.
The way Pete's is the way mine was when i was a Stafford but its not quite the same as the WWII stuff.
the wwII stuff had a much finer weave, more like teabag perforations than sandbag.
I really should have taken pics at the regimental museum.
"I think we are in rats' alley - Where the dead men lost their bones."
