The trooper wears the Arab head dress that
was adopted by the unit by Ralph Bagnold. The two parts are a tan
cloth known as the gutrah, and a black chorded band called an ogal.
It was not popular with most members of the LRDG. The head dress
was drawn for the stocks of the Trans-Jordanian Frontier Services.
Around the troopers neck is a scarf to protect his face from sand
and dust and MT goggles. The goggles were standard issue to all
members of the LRDG and were same as those used by tank crews.
His basic uniform is the Khaki Drill (KD). in this case the KD
long sleeve shirt and KD shorts. Note the 1st aid pocket on the
right front hip of the shorts.
Around his waist is a leather belt and holster for containing a
Smith & Wesson 38 Special (Military). The S&W was a very
popular pistol among the British as it could fire single and double
action with relative accuracy due to lighter trigger pull than the
Webley and Enfield pistols.
The trooper wears chapplies (sandals) on his feet. While the sandals
were cooler and lighter than ammunition boots, they did not hold
up as well. David Lloyd Owens mentions several accounts of chapplies
falling apart when put through extreme conditions.
A bandage on his knee covers a common problem facing the soldiers
of the desert: A festering boil caused by a bug bite or cut. |