QARANC uniform
Hilliers Ltd
Category
Costume
Date
circa 1960
Materials
Wool and silk
Measurements
650 mm (length)
Place of origin
Maddox St, 48
Collection
Longshaw Estate, Derbyshire
NT 667921
Summary
A Queen Alexandra's Royal Auxiliary Nursing Corps (QARANC) jacket. The jacket is a thick grey woollen material with a collar and two epaulettes on the shoulders. Pinned to each side of the collar are brass brooches consisting of a cross with a border of two semi-circular leaves at each side. At the top of the cross is a crown and in the centre of the cross is the letter 'A'. At the bottom, inscribed within a silver coloured horizontal piece, are the initials 'Q.A.R.A.N.C'. To the left and the right are further initials reading 'Subcruce' and 'Candida'. The epaulettes have a shiny circular button with a crown and the letter 'A' inscribed upon them. The bottom of the epaulettes are lined with red felt with blue plastic or leather underneath. On each epaulette are four holes where something has been removed. The jacket opens at the front and fastens with three shiny buttons which fasten within thin horizontal grooves on the jacket. On the cuffs are a further two shiny buttons. There are two pockets. The inside of the jacket is lined with grey artificial silk. A manufacturer's name reading 'Hilliers Ltd,' with their London address, is attached inside the collar. Inside an inner pocket on the right of the jacket is a further manufacturer's label with the owner's name 'Lt KM Gibson and the date 'March 1960', handwritten in blue ink.
Marks and inscriptions
On the label on the inside of the collar: 'Hilliers LTD / 48 MADDOX ST. / LONDON, W.1.' On the label inside the inside pocket: 'HILLIERS LTD / 48, MADDOX ST. LONDON, W.1. / 32, HIGH ST. SALISBURY. / LT. K.M. GIBSON / MARCH 1960'
Makers and roles
Hilliers Ltd, maker