Figure 1.--Here I am just a teenager in the 1960s. This sure beat the classic British gabardine school raincoat we had to wear for school. This is the PVC version of an oilskin. Mine was red (although the family had not progressed to colour photography at this time). The set was also available in other colours such as the classic yellow and I can remember blue, green and black and came with a pair of overtrousers.

A HBC reader recalls the rubberized raincoat he wore as a boy and preferred to the school gabardine overcoat. He writes, "Here I am just a teenager in the 1960s. This sure beat the classic British gabardine school raincoat we had to wear for school. This is the PVC version of an oilskin. Mine was red (although the family had not progressed to colour photography at this time). The set was also available in other colours such as the classic yellow and I can remember blue, green and black and came with a pair of overtrousers. It was ideal for fishing, Scout activities, riding your bike on the road, any 'it looks like rain' day or just being about outside. The souwester had the advantage of hiding my sticky out ears so usually went on even when the weather did not call for it! Various other versions were available for all ages for about another decade but were then superseded by lighter materials. I can remember getting mine from Millets, a high street chain of camping and outdoor clothing specialists. The military trenchcoat styling gave rise to the first photo when it must have been new and the second photo is at least months later at a scout camp (health and safety regulations were of little consequence in those days nor was personal hygiene from what I can remember). Perhaps others can supply photos of similar outfits -- maybe in colour."

Created: 6:58 PM 12/4/2005
Last updated: 6:58 PM 12/4/2005