Original British WWII 1943 Chindits Special Forces WAFF Named Tropical Slouch Bush Hat Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. This is an exceptionally rare WWII 1943 dated bush hat. T The left side of the hat is stitch mounted with original wool green triangle with red, yellow and blue Divisional / Formation Patch the denotes that the soldier who wore this was a West African Frontier Force (WAFF) fighter in the 5th BN that served with the Chindits in Burma.

The Chindits were the largest of the allied Special Forces of the 2nd World War. They were formed and lead by Major General Orde Wingate DSO. The Chindits operated deep behind enemy lines in North Burma in the War against Japan. For many months they lived in and fought the enemy in the jungles of Japanese occupied Burma, totally relying on airdrops for their supplies.

There were two Chindits expeditions into Burma, the first in February 1943 Operation Longcloth, consisted of a force of 3,000 men who marched over 1,000 miles during the campaign. The second expedition, Operation Thursday, in March 1944 was on a much larger scale. It was the second largest airborne invasion of the war and consisted of a force of 20,000 British and Commonwealth soldiers with air support provided by the 1st Air Commando USAAF. Tragically their leader, General Wingate, was killed a few weeks after the launch of Operation Thursday.

The Journal of the Royal West African Frontier Force (RWAFF) was launched in July 2011, filling a gap in the research literature. Published twice a year (v.1, no. 2 came out in January 2012), the journal may interest military historians and historians of West Africa, as well as family historians with links to the RWAFF. Issue 2 article ‘White City, Major-General Orde Wingate’s Special Chindit Force, Burma 1944 documents the Chindits’ mission in Burma, and is included because the Chindits, who were trained to infiltrate behind Japanese lines, included many West African servicemen.

This is an excellent, original, Slouch Hat which was issued to Chindit Troops during the Burma Campaign. It has the original khaki cloth headband and the khaki body is undamaged. It has original ventilation holes at the edge of the crown and press stud fastener on the left side of the brim and skull. The left side of the hat is stitch mounted with original wool green triangle with red, yellow and blue Divisional / Formation Patch the denotes that the soldier who wore this was a West African Frontier Force (WAFF) fighter in the 5th BN that served with the Chnidits in Burma. The hat has its original leather sweatband which is crisply stamped:

FAILSWORTH HATS LTD

6 3/4

1943

Also included is an original Army paper issue tag that is named to WOOLEY. R. The interior lining has been torn and the inner tin foil underlay (used to deflect heat) is exposed and partly missing. Overall an exceptionally rare hat in wonderful condition original condition from a well known special forces regiment that famous fought in the jungles of WW2.