question 1944 Gloves/Mittens

[MHillyard]

Picked up several pairs of these recently, all dated 1944. Anyone happen to know their use?

 

[Richard Farrant]

Martin,

I see it has "Dad n' Dave" mark on it so Australian issue by looks of it (D/|\D)

[wdbikemad]

Yep, "DD" is Australian "Department (of) Defence".............

[Motmeister23]

Can be heat protection gloves for Gun barrel changing

[brown cow]

I think they may be for use in artillery when handling shells. I have seen and collected several similar types of lightweight gloves, there were even long 'mosquito gloves' in khaki or jungle green which tied with a cotton lace near the elbow.

 

the V prefixed number is the manufacturer's code number, V for Victoria, N for New South Wales etc.

A file in official archives mentioned a perceived benefit to makers who were displaying their name or brand on clothing and all sorts of other items, so from around 1941/2 to level the playing field the code numbers were issued to suppliers to the government. This continued till the end of the war and a short time after (from examples I have seen)

 

regards

 

Andrew B

[MHillyard]

Many thanks for all your help. Use with artillery shells was my first thought but there just didnt seem enough padding. It seems the most likely use though,

 

many thanks.

[earlymb]

Could they be water-proof overmittens? Although these are generally associated with winter gear...