Original Items: Only One Set Available. Fourteen numbered 'orders' of dress (in addition to full dress) are set out in Army Dress Regulations though individual Regiment and Corps dress committees do add to this. "Full Dress" is also prescribed for individual regiments; outside the Household Division it is however seldom worn except by regimental drummers, buglers and other limited categories.

No. 1 Dress, sometimes referred to as "blues", is a universal ceremonial uniform which is almost consistent throughout the British Army. No. 1 Dress is only worn on ceremonial occasions, and, in some regiments, by the duty officer. It is also regularly required to be worn by a short list of other units, senior staff officers, and officers appointed as aides to the Royal Family and to the personal staff of senior officers in command. The order is not generally issued to all units, with the khaki No. 2 Dress functioning as the main parade uniform.

This is a very good original British Army Service Corps full dress blue tunic, manufactured by the Royal Army Clothing Factory and clearly dated March 1914, only a few months before the outbreak of the First World War. The exceptionally clear interior clothing label specifically identifies the garment as an A.S.C. TUNIC and records its factory production information, size, measurements, and War Department ownership marking.

This example is in great shape, with a very clear Royal Army Clothing Factory tag on the interior reading:

CUTTERS NO. 2
TRIMMERS NO. 7
REQ. 2926
A.S.C. TUNIC
ROYAL ARMY CLOTHING FACTORY
W(BROAD ARROW)D
SIZE NO. 8
HEIGHT. 5/56
BREAST 35
WAIST 32
MAR. 1914

This dates the tunic to March 1914, several months preceding the start of the First World War. This is a fantastic representative tunic for the British Army at the start of the war. There is some minor moth tracking in spots, but this example has held up very well overall, with a WD Broad arrow stamp in the interior sleeve.

With its March 1914 Royal Army Clothing Factory label, explicit A.S.C. TUNIC designation, War Department Broad Arrow markings, surviving prewar blue full dress construction, and strong overall condition, this is an unusually well-documented example of Army Service Corps uniform clothing manufactured immediately before the First World War and an excellent representative artifact of the British Army on the eve of the conflict.

Approximate Measurements:
Collar to shoulder: 9.5
Shoulder to sleeve: 24
Shoulder to shoulder: 16
Chest width: 16
Waist: 15.5
Hip: 20.5
Front length: 27.5