British serge Battle Dress- 1940 Pattern- Gordon Highlanders- North Africa (1941-1943)

This uniform is that of a Corporal Bren Gunner of the 7th Battalion Gordon Highlanders, 51st Highland Division. North Africa 1941-1943.

The Corporal is wearing the Pattern 1940 Serge Battle Dress with the MkII helmet and all of the canvas 1937 pattern webbing finished in Tropical Sand/yellow Blanco. A distinctive look seen in many original photographs of the Gordon Highlanders in the North Africa Campaign.

The 1st Battalion, Gordon Highlanders was a Regular Army battalion that served originally with the 2nd Infantry Brigade, part of the 1st Infantry Division, and was sent to France in September 1939, shortly after the declaration of war, as part of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF): it remained there until May 1940. On 7 March 1940 the 1st Battalion exchanged with the Territorial Army 6th Battalion and transferred to the 153rd Infantry Brigade, part of the 51st (Highland) Division. The battalion served with the 51st Division during the Battle of France in 1940 when they were trapped and the majority of the division was forced to surrender at Saint-Valéry-en-Caux, with very few men escaping capture. The 1st Battalion was, however, reformed in the United Kingdom in August 1940 and went on to serve with the second formation of the 51st (Highland) Division (formed by redesignation of the 9th (Highland) Infantry Division throughout the rest of the Second World War, serving in North Africa at El Alamein, Tunisia, Sicilyand North-western Europe, ending the war in Germany.