WW II Duffle Coat

Criterion's DVD of The Third Man has some amazing extras and a load time of two days. Trevor has a nice roll to his sleeves.

I know friends of mine will call me Paddington Bear but I just don't care.

Seven pounds. Like wearing weights on your ankles

51 pounds without shipping. That's not how much it weighs although it feels like it. Not long ago it was rare to see a duffle with rope and wood toggles. They're everywhere now. I admit to not liking that. I also admit to being cheap and so I went looking for something different.

I had heard that WWII surplus duffel coats could be had several years ago. There was a mysterious dealer somewhere in the 'burbs of Chicago who had a supply but I never found them. I found a Navy Duffel with rope and wood toggles on sale for $99. There's a subtle window pane check but it was close enough for government work.

But this is the real deal found on U.K. eBay. At seven pounds, the shipping from the U.K. was more than the coat but for me it's a bargain. Made by the Redman Bros in 1943, it's a size 1 which I understand is the smallest size and it's huge. No pocket flaps. No lining. Nothing sophisticated here. Just a solid plank of wool that is overkill for the coldest NYC winter day. It's the SUV of duffle coats and it stands in contrast to the China made ersatz being fobbed off today.

Do you have more brains than money? Go here for a nice selection of authentic used duffles available in the states. Nothing from WW II but nice coats under $65.

I found this amazing interview with a cutter from Redman Brothers. I love these oral histories. They're dense but I read insurance policies for a living so this is cake. Looks like Redman went belly up in 1985 despite some glory years in the 50's and 60's. While I have no idea if my duffle saw service on the North Atlantic - - And I doubt it did due to the shape it's in - - I did enjoy reading about the history of the town where it was made and the building it was made in. Even the place for pies in town.

Suther’s shop and Stansfield’s shop – they were both general stores but they made dinners, pies. Stansfield’s only made them on a Friday and they only made pie & peas, but Suther’s made a range; he’d do steak pudding and peas and mashed potatoes, he’d do pie and peas, he didn’t do chips – the chip shops did chips, but on a Sunday he’d do a roast dinner and at Christmas he’d do a Christmas dinner.

You can imagine these factories – he was making a lot of dinners for [incomp] and they used to give you commission for going to their shop you see, and t’fish shop used to give you…I can’t remember, I think it were so much in t’shilling or so much in t’pound and I could make more money because I were getting this on t’side for my pocket money, so I were all right. I used to be able to cheat a bit – if t’pies were fourpence ha’penny you could charge fivepence but unfortunately one week I got found out because I were off for a day when t’pies went up to fivepence from fourpence ha’penny and t’guy told ‘em, and they said ‘we’ve been paying fivepence for t’last six months’ so I were in trouble!