White RAF Roll Neck Sweaters

[Hawk_Eye]

I emailed Gary about the sweaters and this was his (really quick) response:

"Yes, we will be getting more of these, but not until end Summer/early Autumn (I would expect mid September). We are completely out of stock at the moment which is why the sweater has been taken off the site, but they will most definitely return."

Excellent news there, if his response had been no, then I probably would have bitten the bullet and gotten a marked-up sweater from HPA before their stock ran out as well.

 

[Windsock]

Don't you already have one H.E.? Would you know how close the collar of these is to the actual frock design?

 

[Spitfire]

Don't you already have one H.E.? Would you know how close the collar of these is to the actual frock design?

Mighty cold in Canada.lol

 

[Spitfire]

Just dug up these great shots at the AWM of ACF Ladies sorting and packing Comforts for the Boys. Fantastic stuff, just look at all those pristine white sweaters!

Where are they now? The sweaters I mean...

 

[Hawk_Eye]

Don't you already have one H.E.? Would you know how close the collar of these is to the actual frock design?

I used to have a size 46 but it was far too large for me so I sold it, I'm looking to get a 42. Eastmans sweater, while an excellent garment on its own merits, doesnt actually bear any resemblance to the actual "frocks" used in the RAF in WW2. The frocks, while made of cream coloured wool, had very long bodies, reaching far past the waist. The collars were not of the roll-neck design either, they were very wide and floppy. It was a design optimized for open cockpit flying. Eastman's sweater is actually based on the Royal Navy submariner sweaters, which while some RAF aircrew did wear them, were never actually issued to the RAF and their popularity and association with the RAF seem to have come from the Battle of Britain movie more than anything else. Can't say I blame Eastman for selling a repro sub sweater over a Frock, the frock makes for a rather lousy (and strange looking) everyday piece of clothing compared to the sub sweater and I doubt many people outside a few re-enactors would buy it.

Robert Shaw in BOB

 

[Windsock]

Where are they now? The sweaters I mean...

I can't say if this is one of those in these shots as this one in my collection came from the UK but it's very similar. This sweater's only id is a size tag stating it's a 40. It has some of the characteristics of a Frock but it's obviously not the AM produced variety. It's generally assumed that it was a Comforts Fund product.

HE, thanks for that - if ELC's looks like Shaw's i'll give it a miss.

 

[PADDY]

ELC aircrew jumper - thumbs up..!

 

[D-503]

Good day, lads.

I'm wondering, for those of you who have surplus deck sweaters, what do the comparative sizes mean? I've spotted one of these boys for sale, but it says a size 1 (small) in the description. Prolly too small for me, as I'm a little under 6' 2", but I only wear a 38-40", so I'm wondering if I could squeeze into this.

Cheers
David

 

[H.Johnson]

Sizes

David,

Most RN Jerseys, White you see on the market are Size 1. Unshrunk, they average (I have owned several) around 38" armpit to armpit, 23" long and 23" in the sleeve. I'm a 36" chest, 30" waist and under 6' tall and a typical Size 1 just fits me but is a little short in the arm.

 

[D-503]

Thanks, H.

I guess I'll have to look into the repros, then, because there's no way I could fit into that.

Cheers,
David

 

[Creeping Past]

I'd like to thank all those who posted details and images, particularly Alan, of the roll-neck jumpers. The wife has just begun a sweater, based pretty much exclusively off this thread. Yayy!!

Has she finished it? What's it like?

 

[BellyTank]

This thread!


B
T

 

[Creeping Past]

Some folk say it's best to let dead threads lie. Not me. Not when the 1,000th post is within my grasp.

 

[BellyTank]

They shoot Horses, don't they?


B
T

 

[Creeping Past]

Solomon Adler (aka Battledress and Bayonet) has a repro listed as "RAF Roll Neck Jumper". Good price.

Sorry if it's been mentioned already under a different heading. I searched for but couldn't find a mention.

Edit: I've just remembered there's another thread on the same subject. They'll probably be merged sometime soon. Or differentiated into "Originals" and "Repros", as with Irvins. Anyway...

 

[H.Johnson]

It has. In the other thread...

Don't even mention the Great Irvin Split!!!

Wanna get me killed?

Solomon Adler (aka Battledress and Bayonet) has a repro listed as "RAF Roll Neck Jumper". Good price.

Sorry if it's been mentioned already under a different heading. I searched for but couldn't find a mention.

Edit: I've just remembered there's another thread on the same subject. They'll probably be merged sometime soon. Or differentiated into "Originals" and "Repros", as with Irvins. Anyway...

 

[H.Johnson]

I couldn't find the other thread where it was reported that the usual suppliers of originals had run out of stock.

Well, good news! A little bird in Military Surplus (in the 'field' of 'textiles', so to speak) tells me that a new contract has been awarded (with another manufacturer, as J. Pick has closed) and they should become available on the surplus market shortly - at a price, of course.

I would try Silvermans if you want one, almost certainly better than their previous (approximate) offering, I think.

 

[Marv]

ELC RAF sweater

Just incase anyone is interested, ELC have now got their RAF roll-neck sweaters back in stock.

 

[D-503]

I couldn't find the other thread where it was reported that the usual suppliers of originals had run out of stock.

Well, good news! A little bird in Military Surplus (in the 'field' of 'textiles', so to speak) tells me that a new contract has been awarded (with another manufacturer, as J. Pick has closed) and they should become available on the surplus market shortly - at a price, of course.

I would try Silvermans if you want one, almost certainly better than their previous (approximate) offering, I think.

Well, considering I'm in London at the moment, I think I'll take the train up to Silvermans tomorrow, bite the bullet, and pay the 50 pounds for whatever they've got in stock. I'm not a purist - my "A-2" is a cheap Korean knockoff. And anyway, it's still cheaper than buying WPG, once you factor in shipping.

 

[Spitfire]

fftopic: Just find it amazing that my first post ever on FL is still up here.