RUSSIA'S SKI TROOPS

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 5, Issue 99, 2 September 1942, Page 5

RUSSIA'S SKI TROOPS

SUPPLIED WITH SPECIAL GLOVES Thousands of pairs of white leather gloves for Russia's ski troops are being made in Britain under the direction of four Czechs who owned Europe's biggest glove factory when the Nazis marched on Prague. The gloves are made from British cow "belly" skins, which in tlie natural colour is buff but is treated with egg yokes to produce the white camouflaged effect. The Czech manu facturers were established in Prague in 1882. In peace-time they produced from 40,000 to 50,000 dozen pairs a year of all kindis. of leather gloves such as Nappa, Cape, Persian, suedese, glaves, doeskin and horsehide and fabric gloves of simplex, duplex, meshed and art silk.

The grandfather of the present directors had the finest private col j lection of gloves in the world. They included a pair of Napoleon's which were the first gloves, as distinct from mittens, ever made, and others worn by King Edward VII, ex-Em-press Zila of Austria-Hungary, Pope Pius XI and President Masarvk of Czechoslovakia. When exhibiting on the Continent before the war the firm was offered a pair of gloves by Mussolini. They were declined.

The directors came to Britain j,ust before the Nazis invaded their country. Starting afresh with little but their experience, the four experts have trained a stall' of about 250 British work-people. To-day, in addition to gloves for Russia's Arctic garrisons, they are helping the war effort, on Britain's home front with "metal string" gloves for workers turning out shells and guns in the munition factories.