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Ben's Vintage Clothing

Post war full motorcycle trial riding kit: 1950s Barbour Suit, WW2 British Army despatch rider boots and map case

Post war full motorcycle trial riding kit: 1950s Barbour Suit, WW2 British Army despatch rider boots and map case

Regular price £640.00 GBP
Regular price Sale price £640.00 GBP
Sale Sold out
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This full trials rider kit belonged to a gentleman in East Yorkshire who competed in trials after WW2 until the early 1970s, when he appears to have quite literally hung up his boots, along with the Barbour suit he bought new in the early 1950s. It's not clear whether he was a despatch rider during the war and therefore whether the boots and map case came from his time in the army, but they would have been relatively easy to acquire post-war and much surplus military clothing was adopted for civilian use at the time. The map is quite helpfully dated to 1950. We acquired the full set last year and have had the Barbour suit sympathetically restored, with a good clean, some patching, a new zip and replacement belt fitted, along with a light waxing. It's been undertaken in such a fashion as to retain its age and character but render it practical as a wearable suit. This design of suit had been introduced in the 1930s and later became known as the International suit, but at this stage was still simply the Barbour Suit. The boots are in very good condition, one of the straps has lost its end but still fastens, but otherwise great. Size-wise I'd say they were about a ten, measuring 12" heel to toe along the sole. 
The jacket is a decent large, please check measurements:

Shoulders 20.5"

Pit to pit 25"

Sleeves 26.5"

Length at back.

The trousers, measure 16" side to side at the waist and with the elastic probably fit up to a 34". For guidance the inside leg is 31.5" but will fit much longer because of the low crotch, and the outer leg measures 45.5".

The set us being sold as one lot as it seems a shame to split, but this may be negotiable. In summary a rare opportunity to acquire a wonderful 1940s/50s piece of British motorcycling/ military history that's still entirely practical to use.

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