the story of the WWII lucky silk knickers

Our customer had inherited items from his grandfather who served in the RAF during worl war two, he was keep to preserve the items and make a feature of his grandfathers incredible story.

It was told that the young RAF bomber pilot had been given the silk knickers by his sweetheart as he left for duty. He had not the money for a silk scarf to protect his neck from the cold and stuffes the knickers in the front of his tunic hoping to pass as a cravat. His fellow crew discovered the knickers and teased him while throwing them around the mess.

They flew their first mission,successfully, with no casualties on their part though sadly many of the other planes did not fare so well. After the striking realisation of how fortunte they had been it was decided the silk knickers were indeed lucky and all crew members made a point of touching thelucky knickers before each of their 5 more missions, all of which were successful with no loss of life or injuries on their part. The lucky knickers were now legendary and were embroidered with the locations of each mission.

After WWII ended the pilot had time to reflect on his luck and his role in the war, as a way of coming to terms with his role he became a fireman, vowing to save and protect.

  • we were supplied with a box of memorabilia including papers, love letters, medals and of course the famous knickers

  • we were instructed to select the most interesting items and frame them to look great but...

  • ... as the knickers were only lucky if they were touched, the frame would need to open and close with as little effort as possible

  • it was decided that all items would be presented in a way that allowed them to be removed, especially the papers and documents which were of great importance

  • we chose a beautiful quality wood frame with a deep rebate to take all the bulky items

  • we used quality brass finishing clips and an adjustable safety chain to prevent the case from opening too far, the chain can be unhooked to all the case to open fully

  • a full length brass piano hinge was used along the bottom edge for strength and a quality feel when opening

  • the weight of the whistle proved awkward as it did not want to stay where we wanted but as it was to be removable it was decided to let it lie

  • with everything in place and all looking good we decided not to include the wallet stuffed full of love letters, well a girls allowed some secrets surely!