Description
Physical description
Jacket
White sheepskin fleece sleeveless and collarless single-breasted jacket. The jacket is closed and fastened by four plastic buttons with a further two each side of each collar bone, permitting the jacket to be worn 'open' at the neck. There are leather loops sewn to the neck, one each side, that can threaded over the above collar buttons.
To the waist are sewn two open square-shaped pockets, one to each side, made of sheepskin.
Label
It is not known at the time of writing if this item was made in Great Britain as there are no markings, but the style is similar to those commonly worn by German military personnel during the Second World War operating in cold climates and by Luftwaffe aircrew.
History note
Non-issue sheepskin jacket worn by Flying Officer John Henry Farr White, 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 a/c 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 Sqn (1 Gp, Kirmington) and flew his first mission over Le Havre on 31 July 1944. While with 166 Sqn he flew 14 sorties before being transferred over to the newly formed 153 Sqn (Scampton) and flew many missions in support of the ground offensive over Normandy, Walcheren and Calais. Completing 32 operational sorties, White was awarded a DFC and later seconded to civilian airways flying Dakotas before embarking on a career with BOAC until retiring as a Senior Captain in 1976.
In black ink, by hand, to face of collar.
JHF WHITE