British ankle boots??

[argan]

Hallo!

Someone is able to tell me if these boots are WW2 British boots or not? there are no War Dept markings, differently from the usual boots, no markings at all and little differences in the stichings..

thank you!

[argan]

the other 2..

[GHarvey]

WWII pattern but probably post war.


In the 1940s and up to national service the 'pebbling' on the leather was polished down smooth only on the toe cap and heel.

From the 50s it became standard to smooth the whole boots and 'bull' the toe and heel to a gloss shine.

Its got a double sole which is a good thing.... the army still use this pattern of boot for guards units and ceremonial duties but these usually have a tripple sole (i had a pair made in the 1990s that apart from the extra sole layer were the same as WWII boots)

The leather sole is phased out in favour of the DMS direct moulded sole boot in the late 50s at the 'ammo boot'* you have there had poor grip, had to be constantly rehobbed, caused back problems and were noisy to patrol in... the DMS had its own problems but thats another story.

So my guess is anything from late 40s to the present as I've no idea when the guards started tripple soleing

As said the only thing that would make me say 99% *not* WWII (or at the very least used in service post WWII even if made in those years) is the fully smoothed grain of the leather.


*so called apparently because *everything* from stores at one time was reffered to as 'ammunition', clearly you wouldnt want to be working around munitions in boots that cause sparks on hard surfaces.

[argan]

Thank you very much for your technical reply!
Very useful,

Have a nice day!

Regards

[GHarvey]

No problem, i forgot to add that the hobnails look correct for 1940s boots but again the same pattern are available today so it doesnt help that much...

[lnijherald]

Here's a British made pair from 1942. The leather is smooth, 3 rows of stitching on the nose cap, loop at the back to put them on easily and bevelled edge at the top of the shaft. But perhaps this is all maker variation?

Luc

[GHarvey]

They could have been smoothed post war as that was the way they were done, WWII boots *should* be pebbled on the sides and ankle but I'm sure some units/regiments had variations.

As with a lot of post war practices a lot of it is just time consuming stuff (like bulling boots) to give teenager national servicemen something to do other than kept up to mischief.

[GHarvey]

Here is a pair I have made in 1990.



Note they are bulled all over as that was expected.

They are hobbed exactly like WWII ones but have had an extra layer of leather sole added. But apart from the sole and the fact they've been smoothed over they are the same as 40s ones and just goes to show the have obviously still been a stored item for over 60 years.

[GHarvey]

Here's a British made pair from 1942. The leather is smooth, 3 rows of stitching on the nose cap, loop at the back to put them on easily and bevelled edge at the top of the shaft. But perhaps this is all maker variation?

Luc

I think you have some unusual ones there, of all the pairs i've seen (and admittedly its dozens not hundreds) they dont have loops, even the dms boots doesn't have loops and they look tripple soled too.

Dont' suppose you have a pic of the manufacturer & date stamp do you I'd be interested to know who made that pair.

[Jim Maclean]

Here is a pair I have made in 1990.



Note they are bulled all over as that was expected.

They are hobbed exactly like WWII ones but have had an extra layer of leather sole added. But apart from the sole and the fact they've been smoothed over they are the same as 40s ones and just goes to show the have obviously still been a stored item for over 60 years.

I take it you're a re-enactor.

[lnijherald]

I'd be interested to know who made that pair.

I will dig them out to take a picture, may take a few days...

Meanwhile, here's a picture of the sole. Note they were originally worn by a RASC driver who had the hobnails removed so his boots wouldn't slip of the pedals.

Luc

[GHarvey]

I've seen 'driver' hobbed boots before but not with out the heel 'horseshoe' and toe cresecent.

Again, a really interesting pair of boots!

[lnijherald]

There you go.

Luc