In the cooler winter months, Battle Dress (BD) was often preferred over the lightweight KD shirt and shorts.
On his head he wears the balaclava, a knitted cap that could be pulled down to provide warmth to the ears, cheeks and neck. The balaclava and BD uniform are both olive brown.
The trooper to the left wears the standard BD jacket and trousers lacking any patches or rank. This was common practice while on patrol.
In garrison NCOs and other ranks wore the BD jacket button all the way to the neck, but officer were allowed to wear the collar open with a shirt and tie underneath.
Despite the cooler winter months, the trooper wears his chapplies without socks.
Of interest is the small 1st aid pouch on the right hip of the BD trousers and the large cargo pocket on the left hip. At the beginning of the war, the British were the only major army with a cargo pocket on the standard issue uniform. The pocket so impressed the Germans that they would later adopt it for the Luftwaffe (air force) tropical uniform and later Wehrmacht (army) uniforms.
The trooper holds a Lewis gun to his side. A veteran from World War I, the heavy Lewis gun was chambered to fire the .303 rimmed cartridge.