Home knitted woollen comforts were widely distributed in both World Wars, knitted by civilians and sent in large numbers to troops around the world. We are pleased to offer a range of authentic military comforts from ‘Knitting the Past’, hand crafted to original First and Second World War patterns.

Please see below for details of our current range, all items are supplied in the colours indicated however RAF blue/grey and Royal Navy Dark blue can be produced on request. Please get in touch if you have a specific requirement as we can custom knit nearly anything you have a pattern for!

For enquiries and orders please contact cockpitcottage@hotmail.com

WW1 Balaclava

This balaclava is knitted to an original World War One pattern and features long front and back flaps to sit on the shoulders under your service dress jacket, helping keep out drafts and ensuring your head is nice and warm on those long nights in the trenches:

£30 + P&P

WW1 Trench Cap

This small knitted cap is knitted form an original pattern designed to protect the top of the head from heat loss, especially when wearing a steel helmet:

£20 + P&P

Warleigh Mittens with Storm Shield Gauntlet

These wrist warmers, officially called the ‘Warleigh Mittens with Storm Shield Gauntlet’ slip over the wrists, with the thumb fitting through the hole provided, they help keep the hands and wrists warm, without losing any manual dexterity, as with all the comforts these are knitted directly from a period pattern:

£30 + P&P

Socks

Although the British Army used commercial suppliers for socks, they could never keep up with demand so many men used hand crafted socks. These socks, made of grey wool, are typical of the home produced socks used by troops in both World Wars. Socks are produced for standard size feet, 7-10s, please let us know if you have particularly large or small feet:

£40 + P&P

Battledress Cardigan

This cardigan is a Second World War Pattern designed to be worn under a battledress blouse, hence its close fit and short body. It is secured with leather buttons and can be supplied in Blue Grey for RAF use. Please confirm your chest and waist size to allow the correct fitting to be made:

£55 + P&P

World War One Cardigan Jacket

£120 + P&P

Mittens

£25 + P&P