BRITISH GLOVES

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume 52, Issue 3260, 7 May 1943, Page 7

BRITISH GLOVES

FOR RUSSIA’S SKI TROOPS CZECH MANUFACTURE NOW IN MASS PRODUCTION 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 the natural colour is buff but is treated with egg yokes to produce the white camouflaged effect. The Czech manufacturersl were established in Prague in 1882. In peace time they produced from 40,000 to 50,000 dozen pairs a year of all kinds of leather gloves such as na>ppa, cape, Persian, suedes, glaecs, doeskin and horsehide and fab-

ric gloves of simplex, duplex, meshca and art silk.

The grandfather of the present directorsl had the finest private collection. 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-Empress Zita of Austria Hungary, ■ Pope Pius XI, and President Masaryk, 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 just before the Nazis invaded their eo;n-

try. Starting afresh with little bu 4 their experience, the four experts have trained a staff of about 250 British workpeople. 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.