· Greens (Disruptive Pattern Materials and Olive Greens)
· Blues (Working Blues, Wedgewood Blues)
· Band members are also issued with No. 1 uniform.
Uniform is issued to Cadets free of charge but remains Squadron property at all times, as stated in RAF Uniform Loan form 668. These guidelines are meant to give each Cadet the necessary information to enable him/her to ensure their uniform is in a clean and tidy condition at all times.
Inspection is carried out on parade nights regardless of uniform worn.
Blue Uniform
Shirts
There are two types of shirt issued to Cadets, the ‘Working Blue’
and ‘Wedgwood Blue’ shirt. The working blue shirt is dark in colour
and should be worn with the top button undone and both pocket and epaulette
buttons fastened. Some versions of the working blue shirt have a pleat in
the back of the shirt. This pleat should be ironed in down the complete length
of shirt back.
Both shirts should be cleaned and well ironed at all times with a single crease in each sleeve. In order to get the correct crease; ensure the crease goes from the centre of the epaulette to the furthermost pleat from the button at the end of the sleeve.
The dark blue shirt is worn without a tie and when worn with a jersey the collars are worn on the outside. The Wedgwood shirt is worn with a black tie and collars worn inside the jersey.
Black Tie
The tie is only worn with the Wedgwood shirt and should be tied with a Windsor
knot. The tie should never be washed or ironed in any way. (Because it melts.)
Woolly Pully
The jumper is to be kept in a clean and good state of repair. The epaulettes
should be damp pressed. The cuffs should be worn turned back. When necessary
the jumper can be hand washed in warm water but not tumble dried. With care
the jumper can be machine washed on a delicate wash, however this is a sure
fire way to make it go fluffy.
Brassard
The Brassard is worn on the right arm. It should be kept in good condition
by gentle warm ironing without introducing creases. All badges are to be neatly
sewn on by the Cadet and in the correct position.
Band badge should be added by sewing around two points in your brassard, and
making the holes for the badge lugs there. Alternatively, remove the lugs
from the badge, and sew it on to the brassard.
Trousers
Trousers are to be kept in a clean and well-pressed condition at all times.
Creases are to run down the front and back of each trouser leg. Pressing should
be undertaken with a damp cloth (tea towels are the best) or ideally brown
paper to aid the pressing. The iron must never be allowed to touch the trouser
material, since this will cause marks to appear.
Trousers can be machine washed as per garment instructions.
Skirt
The skirt should be pressed to ensure a creaseless finish. The skirt should
be dry cleaned only. The skirt is always worn with tights, the current regulation
colour being ‘barely black’. One of the best ways to remove creases
from a skirt is simply to hang it for a while to allow the creases to drop
out.
Tights can be purchased form the squadron stores.
Belts
Belts come with two buckle types, brass and Staybrite. Brass buckles differ
in that they require regular polishing. The belt material should be cleaned
with a stiff brush. Staybrite buckles should never be polished, as this will
remove the Staybrite. Instead, rub gently with a duster. Brass and silver
buckles should be polished using Brasso.
Stable belts are permitted on the squadron; they can be purchased for around
£7 from any NAAFI on an RAF base, or occasionally from Woodie’s
Sweat Shop when available..
Females can also wear Purse Belts or Stable Belts.
Foul Weather Jacket (Jeltex)
When worn the zip is to drawn all the way up, and all press studs fastened,
or on newer versions, the Velcro fastened all the way up. The jacket must
not be ironed or dry-cleaned. In fact – don’t do anything to your
jacket, apart from clean it with a damp cloth.
Beret
The beret is to be worn with the band horizontal around the head and one inch
(2.5cm) above the eyebrows and the badge above the left eye. The badge must
not be obscured when viewed from the front. The beret material should be cleaned
with a stiff brush.
To shape your beret, first steam it. The best way to do this is to remove the lid of a kettle, then fill it up and turn it on. Hold the beret over it ensuring the steam reaches the entire beret. Place the beret on your head, and shape by pulling the right hand side down over your ear. Use your hand to pull the material, stretching it and pulling it further down. Ensure the beret badge is over the left eye, and there is a gap of 1 inch between the band and your eyebrows. Wear the beret until dry.
DMS Shoes
Male shoes should be bulled on the toecap, and polished to a good shine on
the body of the shoe. Welts should be free of dust, and the shoes should not
be ‘cross-laced.’
Female shoes should be bulled at the front of the shoe, and polished to a
good shine on the body. Visible areas of the sole should be kept clean. These
shoes should also not be ‘cross-laced’.
Bulling should be done using Parade Gloss or normal shoe polish according to ‘allegiance’. First apply a light mist of water spray to the area to be bulled. Wrap a duster or cleaning cloth around your finger, and use this to apply polish in a circular motion to the shoe. If shoe is not already shiny, several layers will be required to achieve a good polishing surface. Periodically breathe on the surface, and polish away the resulting moisture. If there is already a shine on the shoe, it should take about 5 minutes per shoe to achieve a shine you can see your face in. If there is no shine, by about the 4th layer, you will have achieved the same result. Note that you will need to keep applying layers to an unpolished shoe to retain the shine.
Green Uniform
Greens consist of 2 parts. OG (Olive Green) Uniform, and DPM (Disruptive Pattern
Material) Uniform. OGs are plain green, and consist of trousers, shirt and
jumper. DPMs are camouflage pattern, and consist of trousers, shirt and smock.
Boots and a beret are worn with both uniforms.
Shirt
Your green shirt is to be worn with both your uniforms, and should be maintained
in the same way as your blue shirts.
The shirt should be cleaned and well ironed at all times with a single crease
in each sleeve. In order to get the correct crease; ensure the crease goes
from the centre of the epaulette to the furthermost pleat from the button
at the end of the sleeve.
As an alternative to the shirt, a Norweigan Sweater may be worn. These can usually be purchased from Military Surplus stores, or RAF bases.
Trousers
Your OG trousers should be creased in the same way as your blue trousers.
Pockets and their flaps should be ironed flat. Missing buttons should be sewn
on. All pockets are to be kept buttoned at all times. Trousers should be clean,
and a plain green webbing belt should be worn.
DPM trousers should have no crease, but should be ironed flat, and again the
pockets and their flaps pressed down. Missing buttons should be sewn on, and
all pockets are to be kept buttoned at all times. Trousers should be clean,
and a plain green webbing belt should be worn.
Smock
Your smock should be clean and well ironed. Wash on a lower temperature to
avoid fading. There should be no creases, but pockets should be ironed flat,
and buttons sewn on. When worn, your shirt collar must come out over the smock,
and the smock should be zipped / buttoned up at all times. It is acceptable
to roll up your sleeves if permission has been given.
On a controversial note, AP1358 - Dress Regulations for the Royal Air Force,
RAAF etc. etc. states that smocks should be worn with the lower drawstring
undone, and the smock hanging down. However both ways of wearing the smock
are acceptable.
On both the smock and the DPM trousers, if you have too much time on your hands it would be advisable to apply small squares of black adhesive tape to the centre of the buttons to avoid the thread fraying.
Woolly Pully
Your jumper should be cared for in the same way as your green jumper. It will
be of the ribbed design rather than the new 95 version, which means it will
be more hard wearing. If any fluff does appear on it, however, use a fluff
remover to rub it.
Boots
Boots should be cleaned with a damp cloth until mud has been removed. Polish should then be applied in liberal amounts with a brush. Use a different brush to buff the boots until a dull shine has been achieved. Repeat, then waterproof the boots using dubbing, petroleum jelly or G-Wax. AP1358 does not mention anything about bulling boots, but if you have plenty of free time and a very boring life, you could bull your toecaps.