Duffel coat

This duffel coat is an example of the pattern used in the first part of the Second World War (1939–1945). Distinctive features of this pattern include the three wooden toggles down the front and the brass poppers around the edge of the hood, which allow its size to be adjusted. There is also a throat latch, which fastens with two buttons, and further buttons for tightening the cuffs. This pattern was replaced later in the war with a new design that lacked the throat latch and had four toggles, instead of three. A blue tape label inside the coat is inscribed '121 Kc.' The manufacturer's label reads 'Duffel Coat / No. 10 / Size 2 / Redman Bros. / 1939-40'.

Duffel coats were first introduced to official naval uniform in the late 19th century. The name, sometimes spelt ‘duffle’, derives from a type of thick woollen fabric called ‘Duffel’. This fabric was in turn named after the town of Duffel, near Antwerp, where the cloth was produced in the Middle Ages. Naval duffel coats were practical, hard-wearing garments, roomy enough to be worn over uniform jackets and caps. Both officers and sailors alike were permitted to wear duffel coats as part of their foul-weather gear, making these coats a rare example of uniform that cut across naval hierarchies.

Duffel coats are also an important example of how naval clothing has influenced civilian fashion. After the war, Harrold and Freda Morris began selling surplus Royal Navy duffel coats and manufacturing their own under the brand name Gloverall. Their products proved popular with the public and duffel coats became a fashion item in the 1950s and ‘60s, appearing on the shoulders of a wide variety of individuals, from beatniks and protesters to film stars and beloved children’s characters: Michael Bond’s first ‘Paddington’ book, featuring a duffel-coat-wearing bear, was published in 1958. Duffel coats have enjoyed many subsequent fashion moments, and today, they remain a familiar form of winter clothing.

This particular duffel coat belonged to Edward Ronald Knapp, who died in 2006. Ron Knapp played rugby for Wales, Cambridge University and Northampton, and had a career as an engineer. He joined the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve after finishing his engineering degree in 1941 and completed his officer training at the Royal Naval College in Greenwich. Specialising in radar, he was sent to the join the Mediterranean fleet at Malta in March 1942. As a base for operations in North Africa, Malta was a strategically vital location. Fight for control of the island pitted British forces against the air and naval forces of Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany. From June 1940 to November 1942, Malta was under near constant attack from German and Italian aircraft. Allied convoys went sent to deliver much-needed fuel, food and ammunition to the besieged island, but many ships and lives were lost in the process.

Knapp sailed for Malta from Alexandria on board HMS ‘Breconshire’, a fuel supply ship, as part of convoy MW10. The convoy came under attack from German bombers and Italian warships, leading to an engagement known as the Second Battle of Sirte on 22 March 1942. The ‘Breconshire’ was disabled, eight miles from the Maltese harbour of Marsaxlokk. HMS ‘Southwold’ came to assist the ‘Breconshire’ but struck a mine and began sinking. With both ships in difficulty, Knapp tried to swim for safety. According to his daughter’s account, he was eventually rescued from the water by a minesweeper and given this duffel coat by the ship’s boatswain, a man called ‘Bland’, to keep him warm. Knapp later tried to return the coat, but he was unable to find ‘Bosun Bland’. He kept hold of the coat for the rest of his life. The Navy List for this period does not include any boatswains with the surname Bland, suggesting that Knapp may have been mistaken about either the name or the rank of his rescuer, but it is hoped that further research will identify this kind-hearted individual.

This is a powerful story of care and camaraderie in wartime, tying together to stories of two individuals, Knapp and ‘Bland’. It also viscerally illustrates the destruction and violence of the siege of Malta from the perspective of those who experienced it directly. Although reports vary, potentially as little as 5,000 tonnes of the 26,000 tonnes of supplies on board convoy MW10 made it to the military personnel and civilians on the island. Two weeks later, George VI awarded the George Cross to the people of Malta in recognition of their courage and endurance.

The Museum’s collection currently includes three other Second World War duffel coats, all of the later four-toggle variety (UNI3734, UNI7065 and ZBA2841).