Description
Physical description
Pair of khaki Service Dress breeches, featuring a button fly, six brace buttons around the outer waistband, buckskin strapping to the inside legs and button cuffs.
History note
Worn by Lieutenant Harold Percy Castle during his service in the Second World War.
History note
Harold Percy Castle, born 31 March 1910 in Essex, enlisted in the Royal Ulster Rifles in 1928, serving in the United Kingdom (1928-30), India (1930-31), Khartoum (1931-33), Palestine (1933) and Egypt (1933-34) before being honourably discharged from the Army in 1934. Following his Army service, Castle joined the Egyptian Civil Police, living in Cairo until the outbreak of war in 1939 when he was posted to the General List and granted an emergency commission.
In mid-1941, Castle's fluency in Arabic and other languages led to his secondment as a temporary Captain to the newly-formed British Druze Regiment, a camel and horse regiment formed of volunteers from the Druze tribes of Syria and Lebanon. As a British officer, Castle was responsible for training these men for internal security duties as well as preparedness in the event of an Axis invasion of southern Syria (formerly Jebel al-Druze), Palestine and the Transjordan.
After leaving the Druze Regiment in early 1942, Castle served as a Police Officer in the Middle East Force (MEF) from August to November 1942, the Special Investigation Branch of the Corps of Military Police from November 1942 to March 1943, and finally the Civil Affairs Police (21st Army Group) from March 1943 to October 1944. In late 1944 Castle was posted to the Royal Irish Fusiliers, with which he remained until 1946.
After relinquishing his commission and enlisting in the Territorial Army in the late 1940's, Castle re-enlisted in the Regular Army in 1951, briefly serving in the Royal Artillery before joining the Royal Military Police, with which he saw service in Malaya.
Percy was awarded the following medals: 1939-1945 Star, Africa Star (with 8th Army clasp), Italy Star, France & Germany Star, Defence Medal, War Medal 1939-1945, General Service Medal (with Malaya clasp).