Figure 1.--

My parents were senior soldiers in the Salvation Army in Luton, and when I was a boy they insisted that I, like my elder brother, should be a uniformed junior soldier. This was in the 1950s and the very early '60s. At that time, the men's uniform, in Britain, was very military in aspect, with a high, stiff-neck collar to the tunic, which had epaulettes; this was made of navy serge - a twilled worsted fabric - as were the matching uniform trousers. A peaked military-style cap was also worn.

Background

My parents were senior soldiers in the Salvation Army in Luton, and when I was a boy they insisted that I, like my elder brother, should be a uniformed junior soldier. This was in the 1950s and the very early '60s. At that time, the men's uniform, in Britain, was very military in aspect, with a high, stiff-neck collar to the tunic, which had epaulettes; this was made of navy serge - a twilled worsted fabric - as were the matching uniform trousers. A peaked military-style cap was also worn.

Boys' Uniform

The boys' uniform was very different. The basic items were a red jersey and a navy serge suit.

Jersey

The jersey had a neck band about an inch high. It was pulled on over the head but was not of a stretch material and so was provided with buttons on the left shoulder and press-studs on the left side of the collar; these, of course, were fastened once the jersey was on. The front of the jersey had the rather elaborate Salvation Army crest embroidered on it.

Suit

Much of this was visible even with the suit jacket on since the latter was of standard pattern with lapels, not the military tunic style worn by the men. The only military element were epaulettes on the shoulders. These were bought separately and fixed to the jacket shoulders with hooks and eyes. (They could thus be removed and the jacket worn as an ordinary boy's jacket - although this never happened with mine.) The suits themselves could be bought at the Salvation Army trading centre in London, but suitable suits were also stocked - often at less cost - by some of the local boyswear shops. The epaulettes were red with yellow lettering - red and yellow being the Salvation Army colours - giving the name of the corps. If appropriate they might also have the words Y. P. [Young People's] BAND or Y. P. SINGING COMPANY - that is, the children's choir. The epaulettes had a (non-functional) red plastic button sewn to the top (neck) end.

Trousers

The navy suit could have either long or short trousers. In general, older boys wore long trousers, younger boys wore short trousers, although there was no rule about this. Most boys changed to long trousers at the same time that they went into 'longs' for school. In my case, this was at the beginning of my grammar school fourth year, and since my birthday occurs early in the school year, I was almost 15 when I finally went into long trousers, both for school and as part of my Salvation Army uniform. (I was, fortunately, both small for my age and younger-looking than my actual age.) As with school trousers of the time, the short trousers usually had a white cotton lining; the long trousers were unlined.

Belt/bracers

My mum would not let me wear a belt with my uniform trousers, whether short or long. This cannot have been because she didn't want it on show, since the bottom of the jersey would have covered it anyway. I think she thought that the trousers 'hung' better with the alternative means of support - braces (suspenders in America); strangely, this ruling did not apply to my school trousers, which were supported by a snake-belt in school colours. The braces did not clip onto the trousers like many more recent types but were attached to buttons sewn for the purpose to the inside of the waistband. The braces were worn under the red jersey.

Hosiery

With long trousers, short navy socks were worn. With short trousers grey socks were usually worn. In winter these would invariably be knee-length socks (stockings, strictly) with turn-over tops, as worn with short trousers for school and at other times. These might be plain, although several of us wore (at least sometimes) our school socks, with the school colours round the turn-over tops, in my case red and yellow - the Salvation Army colours, as it happened. In summer, ankle socks were sometimes worn, either grey or white. White ankle socks, however, were associated with very small boys and from the age of about ten or eleven it was regarded as 'sissy' to wear them and grey ankle socks were worn. Whatever the colour, they were folded over at the top. In hot weather, I found the combination of short trousers and ankle socks very comfortable, although as I got older - thirteen onwards - I tended to wear my long socks even in summer, unless there was a real heat-wave. (Even in England we do sometimes get them!) Black lace-up shoes were worn with the uniform.

Cap

At some corps, boys had to wear a version of the men's military-style peaked cap. We did not, although one boy, named John, was bought one by his parents. My own parents then promptly bought one for me. But I did not like it, feeling even more self-conscious when wearing it than I did in the distinctive, high-necked jersey. After a while, despite the expense, they allowed me to abandon the cap. Most of the time, therefore, like the other boys (except John), I either went bareheaded or, if the weather called for it, wore my grammar school cap, just as other boys wore their school caps. My own, like my school socks, was very suitable, being navy with the school badge in red and yellow and therefore of the Salvation Army colours. Other boys' caps did not match so well, especially that of a boy named Richard who went to a secondary school with a green cap and a boy named Graham who went to the neighbouring Dunstable Grammar School, where the cap was brown (though it was later changed to black). My friend Keith went to a secondary school that had an optional uniform. Instead of the school cap with badge, he wore a plain navy schoolboy's cap for school, with his Salvation Army uniform, and at other times.

Overcoat

The men had a uniform overcoat, again in a military style. We boys did not. Instead we wore our usual topcoats. In most cases, in that period, that meant a navy gaberdine school raincoat of the standard pattern - double-breasted with a belt. A few boys wore different forms of navy overcoats. Having graduated from short trousers at nearly 15, I wore the long-trouser version of the junior soldier uniform until I was 16, together with my navy gaberdine school raincoat and my school cap when the weather called for them. At sixteen I became a senior (sic!) soldier but did not wear the uniform.

Subsequent Dvelopments

I left the organisation altogether at the age of 19. After I had left - many years ago now - the junior soldier's uniform changed, as I noticed when I occasionally saw Salvation Army boys in the street. Short trousers became increasingly rare except on the smallest boys (as also for school and general wear) and the crested red jersey gave way to a white shirt with a striped tie similar to a school tie. It must have been a much more comfortable outfit, for that red jersey was rough on the skin, chafed the neck., and was unpleasantly hot to wear in summer weather.

Terence Paul Smith