The Golden Years: 1971 – 1975

From the eras of the Third and Fourth Doctors:

For this new season, producer Barry Letts wanted UNIT to have a more military look to it, so UNIT troops were now kitted out with near-contemporary British Army uniforms.

A possible in-universe explanation for this could be that when the United Nations established UNIT (in the late 1960s?) they decided to outfit their taskforce in a distinctive beige uniform unique to UNIT troops. However, the early 1970s was a time of economic stagnation in much of the western world, resulting in recession and cutbacks. The UN could feasibly have slashed the budget for UNIT meaning that funding for a unique uniform was cut, resulting in the troops having to be outfitted in Army gear from their host nations instead, thus switching the cost of uniforms to the country’s governments instead (a cost that would be negligible since UNIT soldiers were seconded from the Army anyway, so would have had this kit to begin with). Just a theory, of course.

 

“Terror of the Autons”

The UNIT characters now have a variety of uniforms to choose from, for either office wear at their HQ, or battle dress gear for engaging in combat.

As a day-to-day uniform, the Brigadier and Captain Yates wear officer’s Service Dress uniforms.

 

UNIT officer in Service Dress



 

British Army officer's No 2 Service Dress uniform jacket

 

 

Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart in his new Service Dress uniform

 

 

Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart and Captain Yates

 

 

Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart and the Doctor

 

 

The Brigadier’s Service Dress now follows UK regulations, whereby the ranks of Colonel and Brigadier have their own insignia, and generally don’t display regimental distinctions. As a result, the cap badge on the Brigadier’s peaked cap is now a crown, topped by a lion, and the cap itself features a red band around it.

 

Peaked cap worn by Colonels and Brigadiers

 

 

Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart in his peaked cap

 

 

The lapels on the Brigadier’s jacket, rather than displaying the UNIT globe, have red gorget patches on them, which denotes him as a senior British Army officer.

 

A gorget patch of substantive Colonels and Brigadiers

 

 

Brigadier Lethbdridge-Stewart wear scarlet gorget patches on his lapels

 

 

There are still signs of his affiliation to UNIT, however, in the form of the oval UNIT patch on his left sleeve, and the red lanyard around his right arm/shoulder.

 

Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart still wears the red UNIT lanyard

 

 

The Service Dress worn by Captain Yates doesn’t feature the UNIT insignia on the jacket lapels (which we know from later episodes, all other UNIT personnel will have), in fact his lapels have no insignia badges whatsoever. He does, however, have the oval patch on his left sleeve. He also has two buttons on the cuff of his jacket, which most Service Dress uniforms don’t have. This could suggest that Yates previously served in one of the Army’s Household Cavalry regiments as their uniforms feature this affectation (they also, similar to Yates, wear no lapel insignia). Like the Brigadier, Yates too wears a red lanyard.

 

Captain Yates has no insignia on his lapels

 

 

Yates also wears a peaked officer’s cap with his Service Dress uniform, but the cap badge he wears with it is not the standard UNIT globe. What he actually wears is the General Service cap badge, comprising a lion and a unicorn flanking a central crest. This is the cap badge of the General Service Corps, which is a British Army corps whose function is to act as a holding unit for specialists not yet assigned to other units or corps.

 

General Service Corps cap badge, as worn by Captain Yates

 

 

Throughout the story, both Yates and the Brigadier wear officer’s Sam Browne belts with their Service Dress uniforms. Sometimes these are accessorised with pistol holsters and ammo pouches.

 

Sam Browne belt

 

 

Captain Yates in a Sam Browne belt with pistol holster and ammo pouch

 

 

In this serial, as in the later ones, both Yates and the Brigadier can be seen wearing a cloth belt as an alternative to the leather one, usually in scenes based a UNIT HQ.

 

Captain Yates in cloth Service Dress belt

 

 

The ORs also now have a Service Dress uniform, but we don’t get to see it in this episode.

 

The other uniform available to UNIT troops is a combat uniform, comprising a khaki green jacket and trousers. This is 1960-pattern British Army combats. Oddly, this makes UNIT slightly behind the times since by the 1970s the real British Army had switched to DPM camouflage combats. In the real world, however, it was probably easier for the Doctor Who production team to get hold of a bulk-load of the old-style combat uniforms as the Army would no longer be using them.

UNIT Soldier in Combat Fatigues

 

 

1960-pattern British Army combat jacket

 

 

This does, of course, raise questions as to the validity of the “UNIT stories are set in the future” argument if they are wearing outdated uniforms. It worked with the ‘futuristic’ beige uniforms, but now they wear real-life Army fatigues it does tend to date them.

 

These combat fatigues as worn by the ORs, are worn with ’58-pattern webbing and belts, and the look is finished off with ’37-pattern webbing gaiters on the ankles and a scrim neck scarf. The fatigues feature the UNIT patch on the upper left sleeve.

 

'58-pattern webbing

'37-pattern webbing gaiters

 

 

The combat fatigues are also worn by officers, who wear a shirt and tie under the jacket. Their rank insignia is displayed on a slide worn on the shoulder epaulettes.

 

Officer's rank is displayed on epaulette slides worn on the shoulders

 

 

The beige beret and UNIT globe remain the same as before and worn by all personnel. When clad in his combats, the Brigadier wears a UNIT cap badge on his beret, rather than the brigadier’s cap badge that he wears on his peaked cap. Yates too wears the standard UNIT globe rather than the General Service cap badge he wears with his Service Dress.

 

Combat fatigues are worn by both officers and ORs

 

 

“The Mind of Evil”

 

In “The Mind of Evil” both the Brigadier and Captain Yates continue to wear the Service Dress uniforms introduced in the previous story.

 

Captain Yates (left) and Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (right) in Service Dress

 

 

We also get to see the Service Dress worn by the ORs; however, in this serial, it is only worn by background characters based at UNIT HQ. But based on its appearance in later episodes we can form a detailed description. They wear the standard British Army ORs Service Dress uniform, which in this era featured pleating on the pockets (this pleating would be removed from real-world OR uniforms in the 1980s). The UNIT ORs wear a cloth belt, as well as the UNIT globe on their lapels and the UNIT patch on their left sleeve.

 

UNIT OR in Service Dress

 

 

British Army Other Ranks No 2 Service Dress uniform jacket
This is actually a post-1980s pattern jacket as there is no pleating on the breast pockets

 

 

UNIT Private in OR Service Dress

 

 

In this serial the ORs wear a peaked cap with their Service Dress (as opposed to the standard UNIT beret that they would wear in future serials). As background characters, I wasn’t able to get a good enough look at what cap badge they wear with this hat.

 

UNIT Corporal wearing a peaked cap with his Service Dress

 

 

The 1960-pattern combat fatigues are also worn in this serial by UNIT troops, including Sergeant Benton, Captain Yates and Major Cosworth.

 

Sergeant Benton rallies the troops, all dressed in combat fatigues

 

 

Captain Yates in his combat fatigues spies through some barbed wire

Captain Yates is captured by the Master

Sergeant Benton (left) stands to attention before Major Cosworth (centre) and Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (right, seated)

 

 

In this story, the Brigadier debuts another uniform available to UNIT officers; instead of combat fatigues, he now wears Barrack Dress, consisting of a thick military jumper over an open-neck shirt, and a ’37-pattern belt and pistol holster. He wears this with a UNIT beret and brown leather gloves.

 

UNIT officer in Barrack Dress

 

 

Mid-1960s British Army pullover
This style features no epaulettes

'37-pattern webbing belt and pistol holster
Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart wears his belt without the ammo pouch

 

 

Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (left) in Barrack Dress and Major Cosworth (right) in combat fatigues

Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (left) and the Doctor (right)

 

“The Mind of Evil” also introduces us to the character of Corporal Bell, a female soldier on the Brigadier’s administrative support staff. This, of course, was back in the days when women served in a separate Army corps to their male counterparts, and as such Corporal Bell wears the uniform of the Women’s Royal Army Corps (WRAC), which consisted of a grey jacket and skirt. Being seconded to UNIT, she wears the UNIT patch on her left arm. We do not get to see her in any headgear.

 

Uniform jacket of the Women's Royal Army Corps (WRAC)

 

 

Corporal Bell (left) and Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (right)

 

 

“The Claws of Axos”

 

“The Claws of Axos” opens in UNIT HQ, and we see the Brigadier and Captain Yates once again in their Service Dress uniforms.

 

Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (left) in his Service Dress and cloth belt
He is talking to Horatio Chinn (centre) and the Doctor (right)

 

 

Corporal Bell can also be seen in her WRAC uniform.

 

Corporal Bell (rear left) sits at her desk behind Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (left), Haratio Chinn (centre left), the Doctor (centre right) and Bill Filer (right)

 

 

Sergeant Benton gets to debut his Service Dress uniform in this story. Unlike the other ORs, Benton wears a red lanyard similar to the Brigadier and Captain Yates. However, over the course of the series, the arm on which he wears it changes. In “The Claws of Axos” it is on his left arm.

 

Sergeant Benton (rear left) wears his ORs Service Dress. Not visible in this shot is the red lanyard on his left arm.

 

 

The Radar Operators at UNIT HQ wear khaki shirts and ties with the UNIT patch on the left sleeve.

 

UNIT Radar Operator in khaki shirt and tie

 

 

Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (left) and the Doctor (centre) lean over the Radar Operator (front).
Behind them Sergeant Benton can be seen in his Service Dress uniform

 

 

The Brigadier’s Barrack Dress and beret return for when he is out and about on operations.

 

Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart in his Barrack Dress and beret

 

 

The Doctor (front left) briefs Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (front centre)
Bill Filer (rear left), Jo Grant (rear centre) and Chinn (right) also listen in

 

 

So too do the combat fatigues.

 

The Master (left) and a UNIT soldier (right)

 

 

Two UNIT soldiers (right) prepare to engage an Axon (left)

It doesn't end well for them!

 

 

“The Daemons”

 

“The Daemons” continues to show UNIT personnel dressed in either Service Dress, Barrack Dress, or combat fatigues. 

 

UNIT Corporal in Service Dress at UNIT HQ

 

Sergeant Osgood in combat fatigues

UNIT Private Jenkins prepares to unleash "Five rounds rapid"

 

 

 In this serial the Brigadier takes to wearing his peaked cap instead of his UNIT beret to accompany his Barrack Dress. He would continue to wear this as his standard headwear throughout the rest of the show.

 

Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart in Barrack Dress

The Brigadier has now taken to wearing his peaked cap instead of a beret

 

 

This episode also features a Sergeant wearing the standard OR Service Dress uniform, topped off with a red and midnight blue peaked cap. This style of headwear is actually the standard Service Dress hat for most infantry regiments of the British Army (with some distinctions in colour between certain regiments), though it is the only time we ever see UNIT ORs wearing it (in the new series, however, it would be worn by many of the officers).

 

UNIT Sergeant (left) in Service Dress and formal peaked cap

 

 

This is a more formal look than the normal beret they wear. If coupled with the white belts they wear whilst on political duties in “Day of the Daleks” this could represent a more formal Service Dress for UNIT ORs.

 

In Episode One of this serial, the Brigadier is seen wearing his Mess Dress uniform, though it is unclear whether or not this is a standard UNIT Mess Dress, or if he is wearing the Mess Dress of his former regiment. Since he is off to a reunion dinner, it is more likely to be the latter, especially since we can see that the lapels feature the insignia of the Coldsteam Guard (though the Mess jacket itself is not the Coldstream Guards pattern).

 

Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart in Mess Dress
The insignia of the Coldsteam Guards can be seen on his lapels

 

 

This could mean that the Brigadier was once an officer in the Coldstream Guard, but it surely must have been his early years in the army. The only time we saw him before his UNIT assignment was in the Second Doctor serial “The Web of Fear”, during which he was said to be in the Scots Guards, and he wore combat fatigues and the glengarry hat of a Scottish regiment. It should be noted, however, that the thistle cap badge he wore in that serial is certainly not the cap badge of the Scots Guards.

 

Lieutenant Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart in combat fatigues and glengarry hat
("The Web of Fear")

 

 

This raises another point: It is often stated that Lethbridge-Stewart was a Colonel in “The Web of Fear”, but this is incorrect. He was, in fact, only a Lieutenant Colonel, not a full Colonel (he wears regimental headgear and displays the rank insignia of a Lieutenant Colonel not a substantive Colonel). Yet, when we next see him in “The Invasion”, he says that he has “gone up in the world” and been promoted to Brigadier, so either he skipped the rank of Colonel entirely, or held it for a very short period of time!

 

But I digress…

 

“Day of the Daleks”

 

“Day of the Daleks” continues to use the array of British Army uniforms we saw over the previous season. The Brigadier and UNIT HQ staff wear Service Dress, and the female staff wear the uniform of the WRAC.

 

Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (left), Jo Grant (centre), and the Doctor (right)

 

 

Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart on the telephone
In the background, a UNIT Sergeant can be seen in Service Dress, as well as a couple of WRAC personnel

 

 

Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (left) wears his Service Dress jacket open after a long night at UNIT HQ
UNIT Radio Operator Corporal Maisy Hawke (right) wears the uniform of the WRAC

 

 

The Brigadier also wears his Barrack Dress.

 

Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (centre) wears his Barrack Dress to the peace conference at Auderly House, hosted by Sir Reginald Styles (right)

Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (left) issues orders to Captain Yates (right) from a UNIT jeep

 

 

Combat fatigues continue to be worn.

 

UNIT Privates (left) and Sergeant Benton (right) in combat fatigues

Sergeant Benton (left), Captain Yates (centre), and Jo Grant (right)

 

 

The only new addition we see are white formal belts worn over the Service Dress uniforms of the UNIT soldiers on parade at the Peace Conference. With this uniform they wear their UNIT berets, though since we know UNIT has a peaked cap (as seen in “The Daemons”) that would be a more appropriate headwear for such an occasion.

 

Behind the UNIT jeep it is possible to see a UNIT soldier dressed in Service Dress and formal white belt

 

 

Interestingly, for the Special Edition DVD release of this story, specially filmed shots were inserted into Episode 4 to make the Dalek attack seem more impressive. Anachronistically, the UNIT soldiers in these new shots are clad in DPM camouflage rather that the 1960-pattern combats.

 

A Dalek (left) and UNIT soldier (right) from the specially shot extra scenes for the DVD release

 

 

“The Time Monster”

 

Service Dress is seen to be worn by the Brigadier, Yates and Benton.

 

Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (left) and the Doctor (right)

Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (left) briefs the Doctor (right)
Jo Grant (centre left) and Captain Yates (centre right) are also present

Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (rear left) and Sergeant Benton (centre) wear Service Dress at the Newton Institute

Captain Yates

Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart

 

 

Sergeant Benton’s lanyard is again worn on his left sleeve.

 

Sergeant Benton
His red UNIT lanyard can be seen under his left epaulette

 

 

The Brigadier also wears Barrack Dress.

 

Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (right) in his Barrack Dress

The Doctor and Jo Grant (left) sat in Bessie, talking to Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (centre)

 

 

Combat fatigues are worn by UNIT soldiers.

Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart flanked by UNIT soldiers

 

 

“The Three Doctors”

 

In this tenth anniversary special, both the Brigadier and Sergeant Benton wear Service Dress uniform throughout.

 

The Second incarnation of the Doctor (left) and Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (right)

Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (left) is cynical of the Second Doctor (right)
Sergeant Benton (centre) keeps his weapon trained on a potential threat

The Third incarnation of the Doctor (left) looks out of the window with Jo Grant (centre) and Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart

Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart looking shocked

Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (left), Sergeant Benton (centre), and the Second Doctor (right)

 

 

It should be noted that Benton can be seen wearing brown shoes with his Service Dress uniform, which is a massive breech of regulations. Only officers are permitted to wear brown leather. Benton, as an NCO, should wear black shoes.

Sergeant Benton incorrectly wears brown shoes with his Service Dress uniform

Once again, his lanyard is worn on the left.

Sergeant Benton

The Second Doctor (centre) briefs Sergeant Benton (right) whilst an increasingly frustrated Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (rear left) looks on

UNIT troops are, as usual, dressed in combat fatigues.

UNIT Private (rear left) and Corporal Palmer (front right) in combat fatigues

“The Green Death”

Forever known as the story with the giant maggots, this story took UNIT to South Wales (ironically, the current home of Doctor Who).

The story opens in UNIT HQ, where the Brigadier wears his Service Dress uniform.

Jo Grant (left) and Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (right)

Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart

Upon arriving in Wales (in civvies), he soon switches to his Barrack Dress uniform.

Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart

 

Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (centre) and the Doctor (right)

 

The Doctor (right) watches as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (left) takes aim at a giant maggot

For some reason, despite being out in the field, Benton does not don his combat fatigues, and instead wears his Service Dress uniform throughout the whole story.

The Doctor (left) uses his sonic screwdriver on the maggots, watched by Sergeant Benton (rear centre)

Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (left) and Sergeant Benton (right)
UNIT soldiers can be seen behind them

Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (left) and Sergeant Benton (right) and the Llanfairfach Colliery

A production still of the cast on location for "The Green Death"
Note: The Brigadier is no longer wearing his 1960-pattern combat trousers with his Barrack Dress. Oddly, he appears to be wearing his Service Dress trousers.

Benton's red UNIT lanyard is still on his left sleeve at this point.

Sergeant Benton

UNIT troops, as always, wear their combat fatigues.

UNIT soldiers open fire on the green maggots

“The Time Warrior”

UNIT only have a fleeting cameo in this story. The Brigadier wears his Service Dress uniform.

Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (right) in his Service Dress talking to the Doctor (left)

A couple of UNIT troops are also shown wearing their combat fatigues, but without the jackets or webbing, so they are just in khaki trousers and shirt (which looks very similar to the OR uniform worn in “The Invasion”).

UNIT soldier with his combat jacket removed

“Invasion of the Dinosaurs”

Starting with this serial, the UNIT patch on the left sleeve is slightly modified, now featuring a wide green border around the outside of the oval.

A new, slightly modified UNIT patch can be seen on the sleeve of the Brigadier's pullover (right)

Both Captain Yates and Sergeant Benton wear their Service Dress uniforms throughout this serial.

The Doctor (centre) on the phone, while Sarah Jane (right) and Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (rear centre) look on
Sergeant Benton and Captain Yates (left) wear their Service Dress uniforms

Sergeant Benton (left) and Captain Yates (right)

Captain Yates disables the Doctor's anti-dinosaur weapon

Captain Yates (left) pulls a gun on his UNIT colleagues, including Sergeant Benton (right)

Interestingly, Captain Yates now wears the UNIT globes on his lapels (though he still wears the General Service cap badge on his peaked cap rather than a UNIT one).

Captain Yates's Service Dress uniform now features insignia on the lapels

Here you can clearly make out his General Service Corps cap badge

A closer inspection of the lapel globes here reveals that the UNIT lettering is at the bottom of the circle, as opposed to along the top as it is on the cap badges.

Close-up shot showing the UNIT globes on Captain Yates's Service Dress lapels

Sergeant Benton’s red UNIT lanyard has moved to his right sleeve in this story, so he now matches Yates and the Brigadier.

Sarah Jane Smith (left) and Sergeant Benton (right)

The Doctor (left) and Sergeant Benton (right)

The Brigadier himself only wears his Barrack Dress in this story. This is the first serial in which the Brigadier wears a UNIT patch on the arm of his pullover.

The Doctor (left) surprises Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (right)

The Doctor (left), General Finch (centre), and Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (right)

UNIT Corporal (left), Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (centre), and the Doctor (right) observe a stegosaurus

He also wears a slightly modified pistol hoslter, without the flap over the top.

Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (right) oversees UNIT soldiers (left)
You can see that his pistol holster no longer features a flap

Combat fatigues are worn by the UNIT troops.

UNIT soldiers in combat fatigues

UNIT soldiers

“Planet of the Spiders”

The Third Doctor’s final story, rather appropriately, features UNIT. Throughout the serial, the Brigadier and Sergeant Benton wear their Service Dress uniforms.

Sergeant Benton (left) and Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (right) observe the Doctor (centre)

Sarah Jane (left) and Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (right)

Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (left) and Sergeant Benton (right)

The Doctor (left) and Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (right)

Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (left) and Sarah Jane (rear centre) over the dying body of the Doctor (front centre)

Benton’s lanyard is again worn on the right.

Both Sergeant Benton (centre) and Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (right) wear their UNIT lanyards on the right arms of their Service Dress uniforms

One thing that started to get ridiculous around “The Green Death” and reaches its worst extremes in this story is the Brigadier’s hair. Obviously it was the 1970s and civilians favoured longer hair in that decade, but the Brigadier is in the military and regulations would never have allowed his hair to grow that long! I’m surprised his cap still fitted onto all that hair.

The Brigadier's bouffant hairstyle in contravention of military regulations

A UNIT technician is also seen in this serial servicing the Doctor’s Whomobile, and he wears khaki coveralls.

UNIT Technician
This actor (Pat Gorman) also portrayed UNIT soldiers in two previous serials

“Robot”

Continuing on from the regeneration of the Third Doctor, UNIT appears in the Fourth Doctor’s debut story.

Service Dress uniform is again worn by the Brigadier.

Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (left) gets to grips with the fourth incarnation of the Doctor

Brigadier-Lethbridge-Stewart (centre) in his Service Dress uniform, behind Professor Kettlewell (left) and Sarah Jane (right)

The Doctor (left) and Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (right)

Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (left) and RSM Benton (right)

Benton too wears his Service Dress. However, by this story, Benton has (rather unfeasibly) been promoted to the rank of Warrant Officer Class 1, holding the position of Regimental Sergeant Major. This means that he has skipped the intervening ranks of Staff Sergeant and Warrant Officer Class 2. Extremely unlikely outside of wartime (and even then it would be iffy...)! The other issue with this promotion is that RSMs wear a Service Dress uniform that is identical to an officer, not an OR, yet (due to costuming needs, no doubt) Benton retains the same OR uniform that he wore as a sergeant, merely with his sergeant chevrons removed and his new rank displayed on his cuff. For those keeping track, Benton’s red lanyard is once again on his right sleeve.

RSM Benton (left) and Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (right) in Service Dress
Benton's new Warrant Officer Class 1 rank insignia can be seen on his right cuff

When out and about, the Brigadier again wears his Barrack Dress uniform, but this time he wears it with a ’58-pattern belt and pistol holster.

The Doctor (left) and Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (right)

Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (centre) observes the Doctor (right) at work
RSM Benton and UNIT troops are behind them

RSM Benton (left), the Doctor (centre), and Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart
Here you can see the Brigadier's '58 pattern pistol holster

1960-pattern combat fatigues are once again seen on UNIT soldiers, but it will be for the final time.

RSM Benton in his combat fatigues

RSM Benton

Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (left) and RSM Benton (right)

RSM Benton (left) and Sarah Jane (centre) lean over the Doctor (right)
Benton's rank insignia can be seen on his cuff

UNIT soldiers engage the Giant Robot

This serial also introduces us to Surgeon Lieutenant Harry Sullivan, a Royal Navy medical officer attached to UNIT (who would go on to become one of the Doctor's companions). As a commissioned officer, Harry wears the No. 1 dress uniform of the Royal Navy; yet oddly, he wears no UNIT insignia with it, not even the oval patch on his sleeve. One could speculate, perhaps, that if he had worn combats and beret he would then, like Yates and the Brigadier, have sported the UNIT globe.

Lieutenant Harry Sullivan (centre) between Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (left) and the Doctor (right)

Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (left), the Doctor (rear centre), and Lieutenant Sullivan (right)
Sullivan is in his Royal Navy uniform