If you have read the latest issue of The New Mosquito (47, April 2023), you may recall that in the section on shorts on page 24 I commented that I had yet to see any images of the later pattern of shorts which had flaps to be folded down in the evening to prevent mosquitoes getting to the legs. It turns out that such an image was right in front of me – the Christmas card image on the opposite page showing a combined Yeomanry and cyclist patrol!
Now that I look at it I can’t miss the flaps, but it wasn’t until I had the picture massively enlarged on my computer screen as a background image that I spotted them for the first time. You can see them clearly in this detail from the picture showing two cyclists – mounted troops, of course, did not wear shorts.
Detail from a drawing by J. A. Stewart for the Cyclists and Corps Cavalry Christmas card of 1917 – which I like to think is 16 Corps in the Struma valley, in which my grandfather served as a cyclist.
I then came across a further illustration of these type of shorts in use in the Western Desert in 1940, by which time they were known as ‘Bombay Bloomers’ which, intriguingly, is also the name of an Indian restaurant in New South Wales – thanks Google!
This illustration of an RASC private, looking not too dissimilar to a BSF soldier, is by the late Mike Chappell – whose books provided much reference material for NM47 – and is in the first book he ever illustrated: Osprey Vanguard 1: British 7th Armoured Division 1940-45 (by John Sandars and published in London by Osprey Publishing Ltd in 1977). You can see a real-life pair of ‘Bombay Bloomers’ on the National Army Museum website; however, photographs of ‘fold-down’ First World War shorts remain elusive!
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Salonika Campaign Society, 1915-1918 
Hello Robin and fellow SCS members.
I have recently joined the SCS as I would like to find out more about my grandfather, James O’Neill who served in the Campaign in B Company, the 9th (Service) Border Regiment (Pioneers) from 1915 – 1917. He then returned to England and on promotion to Second Lieutenant transferred to the Devonshire Regiment and fought in France till the end of the war.
I read with interest Robin’s article on uniforms in the latest edition of the Mosquito and his wish to see a photograph of the shorts with flaps.
Having looked at the Christmas card image that he pointed out I believe I do have such a photograph of these “elusive” shorts with flaps which I have attached.
It shows my grandad (on the far left of the group) wearing ‘normal’ shorts, but the third man from the left of the picture appears to be wearing the shorts with flaps.
His shorts are folded up and if you enlarge the picture you should be able to see what appears to a round object on his right side that I take to be the button that holds the folded lower half up.
The man second from the left may also be wearing similar shorts but it is difficult to be sure.
I hope this is of help.
Tim O’Neil
Sent from Outlook for iOShttps://aka.ms/o0ukef ________________________________
Dear Tim – thank you so much for taking the trouble to leave this comment. The photo (which you have now emailed separately) is super and very clearly shows the shorts with flaps. As we discussed I will share this shortly on the website. Best wishes, Robin