Figure 1.--I recall what I wore bothnin and out of school and have a number of photographs. They show what a middle class British boy wore then. I think Jeans may have arrived in Britain earlier than most people think. The picture I sent you earlier was taken in 1950.

I was born in England in 1941 and had a fairly normal English boyhood. I have quite a lot of photographs. It seems to me looking at them that what boys wore then was not a lot different from what they wear now. I especially remember a sailor suit I wore as a little boy. I have a photograph probably taken on my 4th or 5th birthday. And I guess the sheath knife was a birthday present. Boys that age would never be given a present like that today. It wasn't unusual at the time. Like every other small boy at the time, I wore a knife all the time. Going out without one would have been like not putting on your pants. We wore them in school too. Yet we never stabbed each other, and I only once ever badly cut myself. I still have a scar on my left knee. I guess I was wearing shorts at the time. I loved the sailor suit. We lived near a port and during and just after the War I saw lots of tough looking Popeye characters wearing them. Also mine had a whistle which I went around blowing and driving adults mad. Mysteriously the pea disappeared from it overnight and it wouldn't work any more. My dad said I must have worn it out. I have photographs in school attire and one of what I wore when I wasn’t at school. They show what a middle class British boy wore then.

Background

My Clothes

I am beginning to realize, looking at your other British kid clothes sites, that my clothing as a kid was far from typical for a British boy. Even my underpants were not the same.

Sailor Suit (1945-46)

I especially remember a sailor suit I wore as a little boy. I have a photograph probably taken on my 4th or 5th birthday. And I guess the sheath knife was a birthday present. Boys that age would never be given a present like that today. It wasn't unusual at the time. Like every other small boy at the time, I wore a knife all the time. Going out without one would have been like not putting on your pants. We wore them in school too. Yet we never stabbed each other, and I only once ever badly cut myself. I still have a scar on my left knee. I guess I was wearing shorts at the time. I loved the sailor suit. We lived near a port and during and just after the War I saw lots of tough looking Popeye characters wearing them. Also mine had a whistle which I went around blowing and driving adults mad. Mysteriously the pea disappeared from it overnight and it wouldn't work any more. My dad said I must have worn it out. I havevmy suspions now that he may have removed it.

Regular Clothes

I recall what I wore out of schooi and have a number of family photographs. They show what a middle class British boy wore then. I think Jeans may have arrived in Britain earlier than most people think. The picture I sent you earlier was taken in 1950. The second picture with this email is me at the beach with my boy scout troop, about 1953 when I was 12. Those are English Boy Scouts. And if you look to the left there is already another Scout wearing jeans. Mine are traditional Levis, his the trimmer English style which I think looked better. Both were available then.

Swim suits

I read with interest your bit about saggy British woollen swimsuits. I saw lots of them, being a British kid, but usually I wore nylon boxer short type swim shorts with a mesh inner lining and a small zip up pocket.

Underwear

My underpants were very brief, colorful, just like modern boys wear, with no fly hole. They were called 'Slips' in Italy, and in France and later by German boys who also wore them. I got accused of wearing girl's knickers (underpants) at my British boarding school, but I was no different to the other kids in Switzerland. In the 1960s we bought the same sort of thing in Britain for my son to wear.

My Schools

I have photographs in school attire. I attended a prep school in England. A British prep school is different than an American prep school. It was a kind of private primary school for children 8-13 years of age. Now most have pre-preps for younger children. Like most prep schools we had a uniform. I left my prep school when I was 12. That was a year early. Then I went to a German-language Swiss school. I find that part of my childhood fascinates me more than my British schools. I made some good friends there. When I was 15 my dad said he could no longer afford the fees in Switzerland, as the pound was dropping like a stone. What else is new? So at age 16 I was moved (more like being interned) to a school called Bembridge on the Isle of Wight.

Created: 8:02 PM 9/2/2009
Last updated: 7:24 AM 9/12/2009