"Uniforms of First Canadian Division in Sicily. " Topic

The other day I was reading the on line memoirs of a Canadian who was in the First Canadian Division during the Sicily Campaign. He mentioned that they sailed from the UK, but cruised up and down the Atlantic Coast of North Africa for a few weeks before heading into the Mediterranean. It wasn't until they passed the Straits of Gibraltar that they had any clue of where they might end up. This would lead me to think they hadn't been issued special clothing. Does anyone know if they were wearing woolen battledress or did they get 8th Army style kit & shorts at the last minute?

My recollection is that they were issued kahki drill so shorts etc.

KAM

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Tropical shirts and shorts. Switched to woollen BDs once winter started to come on in Italy.

As noted, khaki drill shirts and shorts for the first part of the campaign then standard battle dress – I saw a few photos/paintings in the Royal Canadian Regiment museum and they are dressed very much like the 8th Army in North Africa

After it got cold, back to BD

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Sicily in July and August, shorts.

Farley Mowat, who was there, tells that they landed in Khaki drill but it was torn apart by the terrain and vegetation in Sicily so they switched to BD tousers when their kit caught up to them.

If I recall, the BD kit wasn't able to follow everyone and get re-issued until troops settled into and around Campobasso (Maple Leaf City) in late November, early December 1943, and cleaned up.

Most remember its arrival, because of the KD rags barely hanging on and cold starting to set in.

(from various diaries and memoirs from 1st Division regiments)

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H'mmm. Interesting how many of the images linked above show different orders of dress in one small unit!