Leather Jerkin

Leather Jerkin

It soon became clear that the greatcoat was not practical enough for trench warfare. It became very heavy when wet (the thick, lined serge acted like a sponge) and it was too long; becoming too easily caked in mud and weighing its wearer down. The first solution was to introduce an animal skin jerkin. It could be sleeved or sleeveless and was normally made of sheep or goatskin. However this proved to be little better than the greatcoat as it was equally absorbant and smelled terrible when wet. These jerkins are only commonly seen in the winter of 1915.

By 1916 a much more practical leather jerkin had been introduced. It was sleeveless and had four leather 'football' buttons to close it. It was lined in wool and was very warm. These jerkins were so successful that they remained standard issue in the British army untill the end of WW2 and with many other armies into the 1960's!