British P40 Battle Dress Jacket (Battledress Blouses 1940 Pattern). The Battledress was the standard uniform for all Army Personnel, officers and other ranks in the theatres of operations. This Battledress jacket is complete with original manufacturer's label, produced by the company 'The Ideal Clothiers Ltd.' and dated 1942, the jacket is marked with War Department Depot Code 'O' indicating 1942, the jacket is a size 13. The battle dress is complete with all original applied insignia as intended for a Lance Corporal within the 9th Battalion of the 'Manchester Regiment'. 'Manchester' titles are sewn above 46th Infantry Division Formation Signs. From 15 July 1944 until 31 August 1945, the 9th Manchesters formed the Support Battalion of the British 46th Infantry Division. The 9th Manchesters saw much action during the Battles for the Gothic Line in August–September 1944, including the Battle of Montegridolfo. After service in Greece during the civil war and a return to Italy for the last weeks of the campaign there where it participated as part of 8th Army (Eighth Army) in the Po Valley campaign, it reached Graz, Austria by the end of the war where the Division was subsequently part of the British occupation forces in Austria. Nice and interesting original battledress jacket in very good condition!