Description
Physical description
Boots
Black leather & suede sheepskin-lined boots. The boots comprise of black leather Oxford style laced 'shoes'. The upper part of the boots are made of black suede with zips and have a sheepskin lining. Inside the right boot is a concealed pocket cut into the sheepskin lining, designed to contain a small knife (knife is present). Soles are of leather.
History note
RAF flying boots ('Escape Boots) associated with the Second World War service of J H F White. The 1943 Pattern 'Escape' boots were the design of Major Clayton Hutton of MI9, originally field tested in 1942. Consisting of a black leather laced walking shoe and a discardable legging, the basic design principle was simple: once in enemy territory, the downed pilot would cut off the legging by using the concealed knife, located in the right boot. To all intents and purposes, he then would be wearing a less conspicuous pair of civilian style shoes in the event of evading capture.
Flying Officer John Henry Farr White was born 10 October 1921, died 29 January 2006. White was from London and worked as a bank clerk with the Westminster Bank before volunteering to join the RAF in 1940. Posted in late 1941 to the USA under the Arnold Scheme for flying training at Napier Field, Georgia, he qualified as a pilot and was assigned back to the UK in the summer of 1943. In England he trained navigators on Anson aircraft but following severe aircrew losses on the raid over Nuremberg on 30 March 1944 (90 a/c lost) he was drafted to a Heavy Conversion Course at the Lancaster Bomber Finishing School, Lindholme. On 30 June White was posted to B Flight, 166 Squadron (1 Group, Kirmington) and flew his first mission over Le Havre on 31 July 1944. While with 166 Squadron he flew 14 sorties before being transferred over to the newly formed 153 Squadron (Scampton) and flew many missions in support of the ground offensive over Normandy, Walcheren and Calais. Completing 32 operational sorties, White was awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) and was later seconded to civilian airways flying Dakotas before embarking on a career with British Overseas Airways (BOAC) until retiring as a Senior Captain in 1976.