British P37 Battle Dress Jacket as intended for a Major within the '7th Armoured Brigade Royal Engineers'. The brigade was raised from garrison troops stationed in North Africa in 1938. It was initially known as the Light Armoured Brigade which was part of the Mobile Division in Egypt. When the Mobile Division became 7th Armoured Division, the Light Armoured Brigade became the 7th Armoured Brigade in February 1940. The 7th Armoured Brigade had a green jerboa as its emblem. The 7th Armoured Brigade became known as the "Green Rats" or the "Jungle Rats" after it moved to Burma in 1942. The 7th Armoured Brigade returned to the Middle East in 1943, based in Iraq and later Egypt. With Axis forces defeated in North Africa, the brigade's time was a quiet one until it moved to the Italian Front in April 1944 where it remained for the duration of the Second World War; fighting as part of 1st Canadian Corps, itself part of the British Eighth Army. The brigade, now composed of the 2nd, 6th and 8th Royal Tank Regiments, fought in the final stages of the Battle of Monte Cassino and later the Gothic Line and in Operation Grapeshot, the final offensive in Italy.

The Battledress was the standard uniform for all Army Personnel, officers and other ranks in the theatres of operations. The manufacurer's label is regrettably missing, the battle dress is nicely War Department marked. Hand-sewn to the tunic is a pair of nicely embroidered 'Royal Engineers' titles and a pair of rare early 1st pattern British 7th Armoured Division 'Dessert Rats' Formation Patches showing a green rat. A blue coloured crown indicating Major is nicely hand-sewn to each shoulder-board. All insignia are original period applied. The tunic is regrettably showing some (moth)damage, see photos. A rare original and most certainly great looking original BD tunic!