Australian army aviation corps battledress jacket 1953

[dinomartino1]

Australian army aviation corps battledress Captains jacket.
I went into a charity shop today wearing my tanker jacket and an old lady working there saw me went out the back and got this to show me.
Hard to date this as the jacket is dated 1953 but though the Australian army had aviation elements the corps was not formed until the 1st July 1968 mainly to meet the army's requirements in the Viet Nam war.
Battledress and flashes where still being worn in the the late 8o's
Maybe this was someone with a long career or an older jacket issued at a later date.

 

[kirova]

how come I never see anything this cool over at the charity stores in Sydney?

 

[ausreenactor]

Non bordered shoulder titles are more recent. My issued Battledress in 1991 was dated in the 60s. Still fits! I have an early 1990s Commando Battledress jacket here as well..


This one needs the brevet!

 

[MikeyB-17]

I was going to say nice to see a charity shop worker who knows what they’re dealing with, but of course it’s better if they don’t, ‘cos then they’re more likely to sell it cheap!

 

[dinomartino1]

how come I never see anything this cool over at the charity stores in Sydney?

I have lot of time on my hands, I do a two week on two week off roster at the the gold mine so I normally spend one day a week going to charity shops. when I'm on R & R in Perth.
I have a list and made a map of all the shops and go on a run stopping at every shop going north east or whatever, next run I will go another direction.
It just takes time and patience, charity shops in Australia are not the as good as they can be in the US and much lessor so in Perth than Sydney.
Most of the time I will get nothing except some military books but now and then something unusual pops up.
I used to this in LA for three years and found some amazing stuff back around 2001 though, maybe it's not so good there now.
I was buying for a vintage clothing business I was partners in, my mate is still there in Long Beach, any one from around that way will know sneaky tiki on E 4th.

 

[MikeyB-17]

I spend a lot of time in charity shops, I seldom have much luck, especially nowadays when a lot of them have a better idea of what they’re selling and have whacked the prices up accordingly, or save the best stuff for Ebay. Every once in a while it’s worth it if you do find something decent, although I have been astounded by the things people have come up with, original A-2’s and the like. I despair of ever finding something like that, especially in the UK, but you never know. I still have hopes of an original Irvin for peanuts.

 

[dinomartino1]

I spend a lot of time in charity shops, I seldom have much luck, especially nowadays when a lot of them have a better idea of what they’re selling and have whacked the prices up accordingly, or save the best stuff for Ebay. Every once in a while it’s worth it if you do find something decent, although I have been astounded by the things people have come up with, original A-2’s and the like. I despair of ever finding something like that, especially in the UK, but you never know. I still have hopes of an original Irvin for peanuts.

i used to do the same in London I was a motorcycle courier on and off for 15 years, I used to stop and have look at any vintage or charity shop I went passed and in the 80s and 90s car boot sales where a treasure trove.
We can all live in hope but if you don't look you will never find anything, I don't have high expectations like you of ever hitting the jackpot.

 

[kirova]

I guess it is like the Star Wars collecting/props world.

some of the lightsabers used in the original trilogy were actually made with antique camera flashes, and once the knowledge was discovered by SW fans (back in the 80s I think), they were snapped by the fans en mass, much to the chagrin of antique camera collectors.

after a while, most of the camera dealers and collectors caught on, but occasionally, you still hear stories about someone hitting the jackpot at some flea market or garage sale for $20 (originals can go for several hundred to over a thousand dollars).

and just like the A-2 jackets world, there are plenty of replicas of these camera flashes, and also the same flame war in forums about who makes the most accurate replicas