Battledress Captain Royal Engineers - 49th Division - 757th Field Company

Battledress Captain Royal Engineers - 49th Division - 757th Field Company Officer’s Battledress attributed to a Captain of the Royal Engineers serving with the 757th Field Company, 49th (West Riding) Infantry Division.

The jacket retains its complete set of originally applied insignia: “Royal Engineers” shoulder titles, the famous Polar Bear divisional insignia, red and blue arm-of-service strips, “51” unit numbers, as well as Captain rank insignia on the shoulder straps.

The number “51” corresponds to the 757th Field Company, Royal Engineers, within the 49th Division.

The jacket also bears the War Department acceptance marking with the letter “P”, corresponding to acceptance in 1941.

The 757th Field Company joined the 49th Division in April 1942. As a divisional Royal Engineers unit, it specialised in route clearance, mine clearance, demolitions, river crossings and bridge construction.

Committed to Normandy in June 1944, it directly supported the operations of the 49th Division, notably in the Fontenay-le-Pesnel and Rauray sectors, where several sections were attached to infantry units to facilitate their advance.

The company then continued the campaign through France, took part in the crossing of the Seine and operations around Le Havre, before advancing through Belgium and the Netherlands to the Nijmegen area.

Shoulder width: 44cm (17")

Sleeve length: 57cm (22")

Total height: 54cm (21")