TRANSCRIPT: "Mr. Soames, how are these new uniforms going to fit in?"



"....and for drills other than ceremonial."



"Well, ladies first, if we may...."



"...improvement on anything else, especially the shirts."




Initials PE/LR



Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved

Background: SYNOPSIS: A new look's been proposed for the Army -- for men and women. Five new uniform styles in barathea, terylene or fine worsted are to be tried out by the men, and the women get classical tailoring with nylons and black court shoes. Battledress -- is out. The new styles were shown at the War Office today with Service men and women as models. But first our reporter, Leonard Parkin, spoke about them to the Secretary of State for War, Mr. Soames.

Let's look at them -- first with girls from the WRAC and Queen Alexandra Royal Army Nursing Corps. On duty, nylons and court shoes are worn with the classical cut of the worsted suits, in grey for QARANCS (pronounced Quoranks) and lovat green for WRACS.

Shoulders have piping of different colours. A military police uniform in sixteen ounce barathea. It's in a dark shade of khaki and the jacket has small buttons, round breast pocket flaps and one vent at the back. The hat is standard number one dress forage cap. There's also a Scottish Service dress -- adapted from that of Scots officers -- and above the kilt the jacket has a cutaway front with two vents at the back. Terylene-worsted is used for this Guardsman's khaki uniform. Again it's an officer-style jacket with the small buttons that will do away with a lot of polishing. Leonard Parkin asked the models what their views were.