British army 1925 dated boots

[kradman]

Picked these up today , nice early dated

[Jerry B]

Rare items, British army boots pre 1945 are rare to find.

[karkee]

I didn't realize that the toe cap was added that early...I thought it was a late 1930s addition!

[William1]

The toe cap came in even earlier than 1925. The first version had a curved edge like a crescent moon. The "toe case", as it was then called, was introduced in May 1918 for British troops in Italy. In July 1918 it was approved for troops on the Western Front and by September 1918 all boots were to be made with the toe case. So it's late, but still a WW1 boot. It seems likely some of them got to France and Flanders in the last month or two of fighting. Here's one of an unissued pair dated 1918 that I was lucky enough to find on ebay quite a while back. I've wondered whether the "24" over the date refers to the week, which would place this pair early in June 1918.



These photos show the boots being worn, presumably at the tail end of the war. Hopefully the detail is clear enough to see the toe case.

[karkee]

Wow, thanks for the great information William!

That's a phenomenal WWI pair you have there! Does the brown denote an officer boot as in WW2?

Also, were the boots without the "toe case" seen in interwar photographs simply WWI surplus?

[William1]

Hi Karkee
Originally British WW1 other ranks boots were brown, but as the war progressed this was relaxed and both brown and black leather boots were made. The toe case type was the standard army pattern from late 1918 to the early 20s. I'm not too good on the interwar period but I think you are probably right about the plain boots being war surplus. There must have been huge stocks available, and photos show most troops still wearing the plain boot in the Army of Occupation.
Best wishes,
William