RAF Escape Trouser Button Compass.

[The Devil's Bank]

This is the fly trouser button type.

Combines two dished buttons to make a small compass, bottom button has a small spike in it's middle.

This is placed on a flat surface, and then the top button is placed on top of the spike (quite fiddly).

Top button has two dots (North) and one dot (South).

When balanced correctly, the top button turns slowly until it stops.

The two dots are now facing North and when I tried it, it worked first time.

[Danger]

What item were these on? the fly of the trousers?
Does anyone have a picture of the item these were on?

Great idea.

[TWS]

Very cool. The Brits were great about sending escape gear to their POW's disguised as something innocuous. One example was sending them Monopoly games with maps hidden inside the game boards.

[stuka f]

Thanks for sharing!
First I see!!!

[Grimebox]

What item were these on? the fly of the trousers?
Does anyone have a picture of the item these were on?

Great idea.

These buttons were on the fly of battledress trousers or on the battledress blouse of British and Commonwealth troops. The black painted ones were for the Airforce and there were unpainted ones for the Army. If you want to see other examples please see my thread: Escape and Evasion / Survival aids - Silk maps and Escape Compasses + more!

[The Devil's Bank]

Cheers Grimebox..

These are actually two seperate buttons and sewn on the trouser fly.