The Thick Blue Line The dark blue No. 1 dress
worn by most of the Regiments of the Line, by the Royal Regiment of Artillery and by the various Service Corps did not, I thought, come very well out of its first large-scale appearance in public. It imposes on all its wearers a disguise of uniformity penetrable only by near-experts, and by them only if they are near enough to make out gorget-badges, lanyards and other small distinctive insignia. This would not matter so much if the colour had, like scarlet, panache in its own right; but, although station-masters, postmen and naval officers look very well in dark blue, 1 do not think it suits the private soldier. In the Procession it was noticeable how readily the eye was diverted from the subfuse phalanxes by kilts or trews or the dark green of the riflemen and light infantry; and even the Royal Armoured Corps, though basically dark blue, had managed to preserve some colour and (more important) individuality from their vanished splendours. I suppose it is now too late to hope for a major reform. Either we shall go to war (in which case No. 1 dress will be put away for the duration) or we shan't (in which case it will sooner or later be abolished in the interests of economy); s it may be some time before the Army Council can think— except academically—again.
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