Prison Guard's M42 Uniform

[W.Unland]

Hello,

Here is presented a rather rare to see prison guard's uniform that complies with the 1942 regulations.

Prior to 1942 these tunics had concealed buttons down the front and the pocket and board buttons were silver.

The collar tabs are piped in gold cellulon and the boards are green and gold. After 1942 both prison and Justice

officials wore the same insignia, with the exception of prison retaining the silver tab button, while justice wore gold.

Prior to 1942 Justice officials wore carmine piping and boards as shown in my other thread detailing such a uniform.

Black trousers or breeches were worn, and the cap band is also black.

This particular example is a summer blouse in a heavy cotton fabric, unpiped, and unlined. Quite practical for wear in a prison.

Edited July 23, 2007 by W.Unland

[W.Unland]

Here is a view of the back. The tunic is constructed in the old police "rock" fashion.

[W.Unland]

Here is a closer view showing the cap with it's distinctive chincord and black band. Unfortunately these hats have all but disappeared as they are "converted" to waffen SS to make more money, even though "Justice" green is NOT the same as field gray, and the piping is NOT the correct green they try to pass them off as rare piped W-SS.

This cap has two prison property stamps in its interior.

Edited July 23, 2007 by W.Unland

[W.Unland]

A view of the boards with their distinctive "Justice" style rank "stars" which incorporate a set of keys into their design.

Edited July 23, 2007 by W.Unland

[W.Unland]

And lastly a view of the collar tabs. Although regulations call for gold stripes down the center it seems that these "plain" tabs were utilized for all enlisted ranks. I have only seen photos of one early tunic that actually had the added braid stripes to designate rank. These tabs are found in both black as shown here, and in dark green.

Regards,

WIlliam Unland

Edited July 23, 2007 by W.Unland

[Mike]

What a fantastic example Bill ?you were lucky to find it and in mint condition !

Wait a minute ..., what are you doing with Uniforms now ? I remember years ago you told me that space was an issue and you were concentrating on Police Sleeve Eagles and other cloth items.

It looks like the ?Gotta-haveit? Bug bit you properly now ! That same Bug got me a long time ago.

We rarely see these today . I always wondered what happened to these Tunics and why they were not saved . There was a veteran that told me once that most of the ?Guys? always looked for War Souvenirs that only had the Eagle and Swas somewhere to prove it was Nazi ?they didn?t want WW1 uniforms. I always wondered if these Uniforms were overlooked because they lacked a Breast Eagle . Maybe they weren?t flashy enough or ?Nazi? enough for them to take as a Souvenir

[Guest Rick Research]

Being a prsion guard in any regime that's just gone down the drain wouldn't be very "popular," so I suppose most were disposed of ASAP.

This is a VERY interesting combination of old fashioned Weimar colors and style tabs with the new type boards...

but with GREEN centers that would have baffled me before seeing this thread.

[W.Unland]

Dear Mike,

Yes, Japan is a small place For some reason they build houses and apartments here without closets, so yes you are correct............I STILL have no room for uniforms! BUT, sometimes you just can't pass something It brings back memories of my three years in the joint..............................as a guard that is when i first became a cop way back in 1974.........god I'm getting old.

Actually I have only a few. I still concentrate on the small stuff. Unfortunately, it is becoming very difficult to find since the dealers started convincing new collectors that the police were the SS-lite, and police insignia has become popular!

Regards,

Bill Unland

Edited July 23, 2007 by W.Unland

[Paul R]

That is another great setup. This one is another first for me!! Well done!