Iraqi Levies jacket, Pattern 1925

1925 Pattern Iraqi Levies jacket, unissued example.

Iraq, previously part of the Ottoman Empire, became a British Mandated Territory in 1919 after former Ottoman and German territories were awarded to Britain by the League of Nations after the First World War. Iraqi Levies were recruited from the Assyrians, with the Iraqi Army recruiting Arabs and Kurds. In 1928, control of the Levies passed to the RAF. One of the Levies' roles was the defence of RAF stations.