This holster in particular belonged to a member of the Special Operations Executive (SOE) Jedburgh / Jed team. The teams comprised of three individuals from the SOE, the Office of Stategic Studies (precusor of the Central Intelligence Agency, CIA), Free French Army or Dutch and Belgians in exile. These teams were dropped into occupied France to help with the D-Day invasion. The Operatives would appear in uniform and use weapons taken from a variety of uniforms.
Therefore, this holster, while not standard SOE issue, was used by an SOE agent in the field. Embossed on the front of the holster is an oval with ‘US’ as it was made by Boyt for the US Navy in 1943. Strapped in the holster is a 1939, Colt Police Positive .38 Special. Both the holster and weapon as seen in this scan are part of the Combined Military Services Museum’s SOE collection.
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