Tilley Hats supplied to Canadian troops during the Gulf War

I’m not much on Twitter or X or…? so someone else had to tell me about this question that was posed by Mike Bechthold on that platform:

QUESTION: Can anyone point me to information on the decision to equip Canadian troops with Tilley hats during the 1991 Gulf War? Was this a wartime expedient acquisition, or were the hats already in CF stocks?

MY ANSWER: Thanks for the question, Mike! I do have some information for you about the DND procurement of Tilley hats during the Gulf War. The order came out of the blue to the Tilley Endurables mail-order department on Sept. 15, 1990. The DND requisitioned 1,000 T3 style hats, intended for the heads of the Canadian navy, some who were, at that moment, preparing to sail from Halifax on the HMCS Protecteur to participate in Operation Desert Storm. As soon as his staff told him about the order, Alex dropped everything and while his staff prepared the hats for shipping, he wrote a personal letter to the troops that was packaged along with each hat. This order was the biggest compliment for Alex, he was so very pleased that his country would think his hats offered them something of value. To show his support in return, he gave the DND a 20% discount (his mother only got 10%). Another order from the air force followed - for 500 hats - and then more from other countries, missions, and even the UN. How did the DND find out about Tilley hats? The answer and more stories will be in the upcoming book “The Endurable Alex Tilley” by Nancy Beal which you can find at www.nancybeal.ca