Service Dress (British Army)

Service Dress is the style of khaki service dress uniform introduced by the British Army for use in the field from the early 1900s, following the experiences of a number of imperial wars and conflicts, including the Second Boer War. This variant of uniform continues to be worn today, although only in a formal role, as No. 2 Pattern dress.

Khaki

During the latter half of the nineteenth century, the bright red tunics worn by British infantry regiments had proved to be a liability, especially when during the First Boer War they had been faced by enemies armed with rifles firing the new smokeless cartridges. This had been exacerbated by the white cross-belts and ammunition pouches worn by the line infantry

The term Khaki (Persian for dusty) had come from India and was used to describe the 'Drab' uniform first worn in 1848 by the Corps of Guides. During the Indian Mutiny of 1857 many British regiments took to staining their white tropical uniforms with tea leaves or other makeshift dyes in order to camouflage them. Rifle regiments had long used dark green uniforms (with blackened badges, buttons, and carrying equipment) as camouflage and some units of the Volunteer Force London Regiment had adopted Hodden grey uniforms for the same purpose. Numerous khaki drill uniforms were adopted by units in the field over the turn of the century but the darker khaki standardised Service Dress uniform was not adopted until after the Second Boer War. First publicly displayed in 1902, the new uniform did not become universal issue until the following year for all of the regular army serving in Britain.

Scarlet, dark blue and rifle green uniforms were retained as "review order" (parade) and "walking out" (off duty wear out of barracks) until 1914.