Demob suit

A demob suit was a suit of civilian clothes given to a man on his demobilisation from the British armed forces at the end of the Second World War. Although the suits were of good quality, the need to clothe millions of demobilising servicemen led to supply problems that caused some men to receive suits that were not of the correct size. As a result, the demob suit became a common subject in British comedy of the post-war years.

The word "demob", short for demobilisation, came into use in the 1930s. Soldiers had received a set of civilian clothes on demobilisation at the end of the First World War, however, the phrase "demob suit" only came into common use at the end of the Second World War.

Beginning on 18 June 1945, millions of men were demobilised from the British armed services on a phased basis according to age and length of service. A set of civilian clothes was essential in order to help them integrate into civilian life and because they normally no longer had their original clothes after years in uniform. Clothes rationing meant that it was not possible to buy a new suit from a shop without a large quantity of ration coupons and a long delay while the suit was made.

Many separate demobilisation centres were run by the Army, Navy and Air Force, alongside Civilian Clothing Depots. Army centres were run by the Royal Army Ordnance Corps. One air force centre was at Uxbridge.

At the demobilisation centre, men exchanged their service uniform for civilian clothes. The demob suit was just one part of a complete set of clothes. According to the Imperial War Museum, the full outfit included:

A variety of other items are sometimes said to have been supplied, the list varying according to the source, including gloves, underwear, socks, and bowler hats. In addition, men were given a special allocation of clothing coupons with which to buy any extra items they might need, a special cigarette ration and a one-way rail warrant. Men could keep their service uniform too and many left the distribution centres in uniform with a small suitcase containing their demob clothes. Towards the end of 1945, around 75,000 demob suits were being made each week. One of the principal suppliers was Burtons, founded by Montague Burton, leading to speculation that the phrase the full monty, meaning "the works", originated in reference to a full set of demob clothes supplied by the firm. Other manufacturers included the Fifty Shilling Tailors and Simpsons of Piccadilly.

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Wikipedia