DESPATCHES

August 2026

From Yorkshire to Ukraine: Another Month in the World of GoArmy

It's been a fairly busy few weeks, although perhaps not necessarily in the conventional sense.

I recently had the pleasure of attending Yorkshire Wartime, and one of the rather unexpected highlights was being repeatedly recognised by other attendees as the chap from GoArmy. It's always a strange experience meeting people who know the videos, the products and the general nonsense we get up to online, particularly when you're accustomed to making them from behind a camera in the warehouse.

It's also rather nice to discover that the hours spent talking about obscure military clothing on the internet haven't been entirely wasted.

So, with that pleasant little ego boost out of the way, we've had a rummage around the warehouse and picked out a few things we've been interested in recently.

Bring Back the White Mess Jacket

There are some things in British menswear that have, for reasons nobody can adequately explain, simply disappeared.

The white mess jacket is one of them.

Once upon a time, the white dinner jacket was the sort of thing a reasonably well-dressed British gentleman might actually be expected to own. These days, unless you're attending a regimental dinner, holidaying at a very expensive hotel or have somehow wandered into an episode of Jeeves and Wooster, you're unlikely to encounter one.

Which is a shame.

The military mess jacket has its roots in the nineteenth-century evolution of the Army's short shell jackets, which were adapted for evening wear and eventually developed into the highly distinctive mess dress worn by officers today.

The white version became particularly associated with warm-weather and tropical evening dress, eventually becoming formalised as No. 11 Dress, the Army's warm-weather mess uniform.

And frankly, we think it deserves a comeback.

There's something wonderfully ridiculous about a cropped white jacket, black bow tie and high-waisted trousers. It's formal without being boring, and just flamboyant enough to suggest that you've either got somewhere extremely important to be or have been drinking champagne since lunchtime.

Bertie Wooster would approve.

Jeeves, naturally, would probably have reservations.

We're firmly on Bertie's side.

Why Does the Royal Navy Have Army Logistics Jumpers?

This month we've acquired a rather curious collection of Royal Navy utility jumpers.

Nothing particularly strange about that.

Except they've got Army ranks and Royal Logistic Corps shoulder titles on them.

Which naturally led us to ask the question:

Why the hell are Army logisticians wearing Royal Navy jumpers?

The answer is that the British military has an enormous amount of joint activity going on behind the scenes, particularly when it comes to getting soldiers, vehicles and equipment where they actually need to be.

Take 17 Port and Maritime Regiment, Royal Logistic Corps.

Based at Marchwood in Southampton, the regiment provides the Army's specialist port and maritime capability. Its personnel are responsible for moving people, vehicles, equipment and supplies by sea and getting them ashore, whether that's through an established port or somewhere considerably less convenient.

And these aren't lads sitting behind a desk booking ferries.

The regiment operates Army work boats, combat support boats, Mexeflote rafts, cranes and container-handling equipment, alongside specialist personnel responsible for port operations and maritime logistics.

They're particularly important to amphibious operations, working alongside the Royal Marines and providing the logistics capability required to get a fighting force from ship to shore.

Because an army can have all the tanks, artillery and infantry in the world, but they're not much use if they're sitting on the wrong side of the sea.

So, if you're wondering why the Royal Navy jumper has an Army rank on it...

We think we've found the sailors. They're actually logisticians.

The Swedes Go to War

One of our favourite things about military history is discovering that seemingly ordinary pieces of kit can have a rather extraordinary story behind them.

Take the Swedish Army's 1909 Livpals parka.

The original design was intended for brutally cold Scandinavian conditions, but its story takes us somewhere considerably more dramatic: Finland, 1939.

When the Soviet Union invaded Finland in November 1939, Sweden officially remained non-belligerent. That didn't stop thousands of Swedes volunteering to fight alongside the Finns.

Around 9,500 Swedish volunteers ultimately took part in the Winter War, with the bulk forming the Swedish Volunteer Corps. Around 8,400 served within the Corps itself, which fought around the Salla front in northern Finland.

They arrived in a war where the cold was every bit as dangerous as the Red Army.

The Swedish volunteers were deployed to the Salla sector in February 1940, relieving Finnish units that could then be moved south to the increasingly desperate fighting around the Karelian Isthmus.

Their losses included dozens killed, with many more wounded or suffering severe frostbite.

And that brings us neatly back to the parka.

We've got another variation on the Swedish parka on the way — this time in Arctic White.

It should be landing sometime next month, and if you're planning on recreating the Winter War, disappearing into a snowy landscape, or simply fancy looking like you've just been recruited by the Swedish government to fight the Soviets...

Keep an eye out.

Meanwhile, Back in the Real World...

It's been a rather eventful week for British foreign policy.

We've got ourselves a new Prime Minister, and he's already off to Ukraine.

Andy Burnham is currently in Kyiv, making his first overseas visit as Prime Minister and reaffirming Britain's support for Ukraine.

And because apparently a diplomatic visit wasn't quite exciting enough, Britain has also announced further support for Ukraine's long-range strike capabilities, including arrangements concerning British-made components used in the SCALP/Storm Shadow missile family.

Ukraine gets greater ability to produce and maintain its own long-range weapons.

Britain gets to deepen its involvement in supporting Ukraine.

And Russia...

isn't particularly thrilled about it.

The Kremlin has accused Britain of escalating the conflict and warned that the move will have consequences.

So, all in all, a fairly normal week in European geopolitics.

And That's About It From Us

It's been a slightly quieter month around the warehouse, but there are always a few interesting things finding their way through the doors.

Some of them are historically significant.

Some of them are surprisingly complicated pieces of military logistics.

And some of them are, apparently, Royal Navy jumpers belonging to Army logisticians.

We've also got some new bits on the way, including the Arctic White Swedish parka, so keep your eyes peeled for those.

And if you happened to see us at Yorkshire Wartime, cheers for saying hello. It's genuinely brilliant to meet the people who watch the videos and buy the kit in person — even if it is slightly unnerving discovering that people recognise us before we've recognised them.

Until next time,

GoArmy

Military surplus, outdoor kit & assorted historical tat.