Original WWII Irvin Trouser Thread

[spitfire]

Here are a few pictures of certain sections of the brown wool irvin trousers,before adding pecard leather dressing.

THE POCKET AND THE LOVELY YELLOW STITCHING

THE ZIP AND PULL

THE SMALL TRIANGULAR LEATHER AT THE BASE OF THE HIP POCKET

THE BRACES WITH LOVELY YELLOW STITCHING

THE TRIANGULAR LEATHER SECTIONS AT EITHER END OF THE HIP POCKETS

CLOSE UP OF THE SMALL LABEL STICKING OUT OF THE BACK OF THE TROUSERS

THE POSITION OF THE SMALL LABEL AT THE BACK OF THE TROUSERS

THE DIFFERENCE IN LEATHER GRAIN AND QUALITY OF THE INDIVIDUAL LEATHER PANELS USED

THE BROWN WOOL INSIDE THE LOWER LEGS

There seems to be mould on the pockets,so i will try and wipe that off.I will give the wool a nice clean with the vaccuum cleaner and soft brush attatchment.I do not know when i will be applying pecard,but when i do,i will post some pictures.
It turns out,these irvin flying suits,did not fully protect the bomber crews from the intense cold of high altitudes.my father was just telling me that my grandfather and a lot of the crews,were invilided out of the R.A.F,due to rheumatic disease,caused by the intense cold.My grandfather was a wireless operator and a bomb aimer in the lancaster bombers.obviously,each member of the bombing crew were trained in the other crew skills.probably incase one was killed,the others could take turns taking over.
A WW2 Luftwaffe bombing crew member,has just visited the city of Bath,to apologise for bombing it during the war.he got a lovely welcome,full of forgiveness.

 

[Roughwear]

Paul I have studied your excellent photos and notice details which are identical to those found on my black Irvin. The tan strap rings are the same as are the pulls, down to colour of the stitching and the fact the stitches are further away from the edge than on many other pulls from the mid war years. I suspect this maker was able to source black and brown hides quite easily. My guess is still Irvin Air Chute. They were a nice pair of trousers. Are you planning to undertake the necessary re-stitching?

 

[spitfire]

Thank you Andrew,i am so glad you found the pictures interesting enough to scrutinize them.I noticed the leather zip pulls on the brown wool trousers,are completely different from the leather zip pulls on the black wool trousers,but only after you mentioned it in your post above.The black wool zip pull is much narrower,the stitching is nearer the edge and the stitching ends in a very sharp spearhead shaped point-more pronunced on the back of it.the main large thigh pockets are made of identical soft supple leather,except the pocket flaps,which in the brown wool trousers,are made of much thicker,stronger leather.the black wool pocket flaps are made of the same soft supple leather as the actual pockets themselves.
The white wool trousers are made up of two front panels,and three back panels of leather,on each leg.
The black wool trousers are made up of two front panels,and four back panels of leather,on each leg.
The brown wool trousers are made up of two front panels,and four back panels of leather,on each leg.
The black wool and brown wool panel design and seam designs,are virtually identical,except the black wool seams are lower down than each of the leg seams in the brown wool trousers.
I will eventually get around to restitching them all sometime,but i am a busy busy bee these days.In the meantime,i will sneak away from some of the things i am doing,and apply a coat of pecard when i can,as i said i would.
I hope some of the little points i made comparing each trouser with each trouser,have been of some small help to you Andrew.

 

[deeb7]

Here's ours at the Warbirds Museum ...

Ref. No. 725. IRVIN TROUSERS. Circa late 1930s. Label reads “Irvinsuit. Irvin Air Chute of Great Britain Ltd. Letchworth Herts Patent No.407445/32.” On the braces is written “F. G. Taylor 41963”. In black paint on back is “337”. Stitching in poor shape and needs replacing. Top of one leg pocket missing. Probably used by Frank Granville Taylor. Joined 9/2/41. Went to Canada. Later commissioned. Flying Officer.

 

[spitfire]

That is a lovely looking pair of irvin trousers deeb7.my guess is,when you got them and opened them up,the sheepskin was still plush and deliciously fresh looking,with hardly any wear at all?
The one thing i noticed about irvin trousers,is no matter how messed up the leather and stitching may be,the sheepskin inside is always in an incredibly beautiful condition.I simply adore opening one of the legs on my irvin trousers,just a little bit,and looking at the sheepskin inside.
What is the condition of the sheepskin in your wonderful pair of irvin trousers like deeb7? any chance of a couple of little pictures please?

 

[deeb7]

What is the condition of the sheepskin in your wonderful pair of irvin trousers like deeb7? any chance of a couple of little pictures please?

Not mine Spitfire, they are from the Warbirds virtual museum.

http://www.warbirdsite.com/museumclothing.html

I posted because I thought that the label might be of interest.

 

[Roughwear]

Here's ours at the Warbirds Museum ...

Ref. No. 725. IRVIN TROUSERS. Circa late 1930s. Label reads “Irvinsuit. Irvin Air Chute of Great Britain Ltd. Letchworth Herts Patent No.407445/32.” On the braces is written “F. G. Taylor 41963”. In black paint on back is “337”. Stitching in poor shape and needs replacing. Top of one leg pocket missing. Probably used by Frank Granville Taylor. Joined 9/2/41. Went to Canada. Later commissioned. Flying Officer.

David, I can't see the picture. Can you upload it again? Thanks.

 

[Chris 55]

This thread bass died

 

[Micawber]

This thread bass died

Well looks like in bass indeed passed it's sell by date.

 

[Chris 55]

Well looks like in bass indeed passed it's sell by date.

Typo error sorry (has)
I've just just bought what was left off pair of Irvin trousers that have had the zip's and pockets removed and came across this thread and was looking to collect information to rebuild them.