Boots

[Alan24]

Passed by a shoe exhibition in Winchester at the weekend. Wife wanted to pop in so we had a look around. 

Couple of Great War related items which may interest some. 

[kenf48]

Thank you for sharing

[Andrew Upton]

4 hours ago, Alan24 said:

Passed by a shoe exhibition in Winchester at the weekend. Wife wanted to pop in so we had a look around. 

Couple of Great War related items which may interest some. 

 

 

The fug boot is lovely, but the description of the officer boot is off as this pattern wasn't adopted for use until the 1920's. Other originals are commonly seen sold as being of WW1 vintage which is likely where they have got this information from.

[Pete_C]

17 minutes ago, Andrew Upton said:

 

The fug boot is lovely, but the description of the officer boot is off as this pattern wasn't adopted for use until the 1920's. Other originals are commonly seen sold as being of WW1 vintage which is likely where they have got this information from.

Thanks Andrew, you’ve preempted a question I’ve been meaning to post for a long time. I have a pair of these ‘officer boots’ which, as you say, appear all the time on eBay and with online dealers, usually advertised as WW1 British Officer’s Field Boots or suchlike, but they are never seen in contemporary Great War photographs. Do you know anything more about the pattern and period of service - judging by the number that still turn up, I imagine they had a pretty long service life. The closest I can find to a GW issue is the ‘Norwegian Boot’ pattern which is immediately differentiated by the moccasin style uppers, but otherwise appear to be identical.

Pete

 

[4thGordons]

There are also several reproduction makers (in India and Pakistan) offering this style of boot new (in brown or black) also.

There were a WWII version of the officer's boot with the moccasin style toecap as shown in the above ad.  made by several Northants manufacturers (John White being one) which show up quite a bit - these are generally dated 1943/4 and are a very reddish brown, pebbled leather and usually have double buckles on a gaiter at the top rather than three equidistantly spaced buckles. 

Chris

[Bob Davies]

Thanks for letting us all know @Alan24,

and to all those who have replied.

I have a pair of these 'Officers field boots', they belonged to my Uncle who bought them new around 1950.

They were sold to him as horse riding boots, as that is what he did in his spare time.

He worked down the pit and earnt a lot of cash.

I always wondered if they were worn in WW1 but I have never seen pictures of them.

When I get the chance I will take a picture or two. I wore them for horse riding for years, very comfortable but alas these days they need a good cobbler to sew bits of them up.

Regards, Bob.

[Andrew Upton]

4 hours ago, Pete_C said:

Thanks Andrew, you’ve preempted a question I’ve been meaning to post for a long time. I have a pair of these ‘officer boots’ which, as you say, appear all the time on eBay and with online dealers, usually advertised as WW1 British Officer’s Field Boots or suchlike, but they are never seen in contemporary Great War photographs. Do you know anything more about the pattern and period of service - judging by the number that still turn up, I imagine they had a pretty long service life. The closest I can find to a GW issue is the ‘Norwegian Boot’ pattern which is immediately differentiated by the moccasin style uppers, but otherwise appear to be identical.

Pete

 

As I recall the specific style in the OP was adopted for officers of the Royal Artillery in something like 1926 or 1928. Obviously being used within a decade of the war itself and (as per your advert) they are not a million miles away from what could be bought in the war but...

Edited 29 January by Andrew Upton

[6th Hauraki KIA KAHA]

I am sure in a book I had somewhere they are a 1920s pattern artillery officers boot.

worn also worn in WW2 by some high-ranking officers.

 

J

[Bob Davies]

This is the best picture my phone camera will take.

Trust me, they are the same as the ones in the original post, smooth leather.

 

[Pete_C]

….and as of January 2024, still hand made in Italy and sold in the US as a ‘tall riding boot’ - the reference to the ‘Australian Boer War pattern’ sounds a bit erroneous but confirms the observation in the OP that ‘fashion often adopts the style of utilitarian wear’.

Pete

[Andrew Upton]

5 hours ago, Pete_C said:

….and as of January 2024, still hand made in Italy and sold in the US as a ‘tall riding boot’ - the reference to the ‘Australian Boer War pattern’ sounds a bit erroneous but confirms the observation in the OP that ‘fashion often adopts the style of utilitarian wear’....

I'd be interested to know where they got that attribution from as well, as a brief (and by no means exhaustive) Google search of images of Australian Boer soldiers and officers shows the usual mix of puttees, ordinary style riding boots and plenty of ankle boots worn with gaiters (usually the stowasser type) you would expect to see - but again a conspicuous lack of the type in question...