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US ARMY SERVICE TROUSERS, MOUNTED PATTERN 1924/26
– POST WORLD WAR ONE UNIFORM ITEM: Adopted in
the years immediately following World War One, the
Pattern 1924/1926 Service Uniform once again saw the
army change from a wool field uniform to this cotton
twill cloth. Not the first such change, and certainly
not the last, this uniform would remain in use until
1941 when the OD green field uniforms were introduced.
When introduced in 1924, these trousers featured
buttoned flaps on the two rear pockets, and a cloth
adjustment belt just below the rear waist band. By
1926, the rear pocket flaps and adjustment belt had been
discontinued. The trousers retained the “breech” style
cut, with the blousing around the hips and thighs to
provide room for movement, while the lower legs were
severely tailored to fit the calf in order that the
trousers would fit inside the riding boots or the
various patterns of leggings then in use. The laced
section provided for adjusting the fit to the individual
soldier’s leg profile. These trousers also featured a
reinforcing panel of the same material on the inside of
both legs, running from mid-thigh down to mid-calf. It
is unclear whether this additional panel was
specifically intended for mounted soldiers, but from my
research, it appears this panel was provided on all
trousers of this pattern, regardless of the branch of
the service – mounted and foot soldiers alike received
them.
When the army replaced the 1902 Mounted Trousers with
the 1911 Pattern Trousers, they eliminated the material
reinforcing the trouser seat as unnecessary, but
retained the reinforcing panels on the inside of the
trouser legs. The Pattern 1924/26 Trousers incorporated
this same coverage, indicating the reinforcing panels
only on the inside of the legs had proven to be
adequate.
Despite the unit or soldier applied identification
stencils on the inside surface of the waist band, this
pair of trousers presents in virtually “like new”
unissued condition. There is no soiling, staining, nor
is there any wear or damage. The laces on the lower
legs appear to be in the same configuration as when the
trousers were manufactured – that is, they were never
untied or adjusted. The eyelets on the leg gussets are
all present with the original enamel paint intact, the
lacing strings are full length, and all four lace ends
retain the brass tips. All of the suspender buttons on
the waist band are present, as are all of the steel
buttons on the fly – those on the fly are embossed with
the correct “ * U S ARMY * “ logo. There is no maker or
Quartermaster Depot tag to be found, nor any evidence
that one was ever attached, but there are some faint ink
stamps around the inside of the waist band that appear
to include some of the standard Quartermaster
information. There are also the unit or soldier
applied identification stamps. All of the pockets are
intact and all of the belt loops are present.
Despite the later period of issue and use, these Pattern
1924/26 Trousers are not particularly common, probably
due in no small part to the reduction in force during
the interwar years. These trousers present in excellent
condition and they will display well in a post World War
One collection. (0429) $75
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