item details
NameJacket with patches and badges
ProductionVarious; 1940s; United States
Classificationjackets, souvenirs
Materialsmetal, cloth, thread, plastic, metal, cotton, synthetic fibre
Materials Summarymachine sewn jacket with badges sewn on by hand
Techniquesmachine sewing, hand sewing
DimensionsCentre back: 587mm (length)
Registration NumberGH016763
Credit lineGift of Ines Helberg, 2010
Overview
This jacket is an evocative souvenir of the owner's history of travel, featuring a rich array of badges and patches.
It was originally a M43 field jacket made for American troops to wear in the Second World War (1939-45). It was bought by Ines Helberg from an army surplus store in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, in 1946. She added the badges and patches as she hitchhiked and cycled around her home country of the Netherlands and around Europe from 1946 to the early 1950s. She later recalled, ‘just for fun I started collecting the badges’.
Helberg migrated to New Zealand in 1956 and later lived for several years in Australia. ‘I kept on collecting during my holiday wanderings.’