Queensland, October 1943: men of the veteran 2/6th Bn, 17th Bde, 6th Div line up in newly issued service dress before going on leave.
The waistband, pockets, sleeves and collar were altered to look smarter, but Australian soldiershad few illusions about this uniform’s lack of elegance. Service dress had to serve them for all occasions: ceremonies, leave, battle - even sleep, and burial. Australians coming home on leave in their ill-fitting ‘jungle greens’ were particularly self-conscious, and resented the impact made on Australian girls by well-paid Americans in smart walking-out uniforms; but the Australian government
could not afford a separate ‘glamour uniform’ for its troops.
(Australian War Memorial 058225)
AUSSIES DON’T NEED NO STINKING DRESS UNIFORMS!