Dave, a very brave undertaking !
We make little in this country today, and good repro's of, for example WW1 ankle boots, will set you back about £180 if you insist on UK manufacture.............most original MoD footwear manufacturers were in Northampton, Bristol, etc, and many of these, often firms going back years, have folded in recent years due to MoD outsourcing to Europe and beyond.........
Both Soldier of Fortune (North Wales) and What Price Glory (USA based but ship from Dubai faster than most UK post) source much of their stock from India and Pakistan........MOST in my experience is bloody good quality and good value for money and the only real issue is their sizing can be a tad off sometimes.............but reading the customer reviews on WPG's web-site on their footwear, despite being made in India, it seems to be good quality and reliable.............
I might suggest approaching Jerry Lee, the proprietor of WPG, about DR boots...........he doesn't necessarily use the same suppliers as SoF and personally I have found his goods to be a better quality...............I have had a RAF BD and shirt from him and to be honest, it was top-notch and couldn't be faulted on quality, size, detail and price....shipping too (from Dubai) was excellent and faster and competetive with the UK............
Much of the commercial footwear and clothing we all wear every day is nowadays made in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Banja-Luka, etc...........and we don't generally complain about quality nor wearability..............sure, you need to keep a close-eye on manufacture and detail, but to obtain any order at anywhere near a competitive manufacturing and selling price today you will not find it in the UK..........
Speak to Jerry Lee at WPG mate I suggest.......he's a nice bloke......
The sad thing about this country is there's little determination on the part of the Government or anyone else to support British companies...It's no wonder most of them have 'gone west'....
Obviously prices are, and have to be an issue sometimes, but personally I try to buy home produced products where I can..I also try to use local businesses where possible....
Regarding replica boots I know two people who have bought Indian/Pakistani replicas of DR boots and they left quite a bit to be desired once put to use......
I haven't had any myself and I don't know at this point in time from which company they were sourced....
As is often the case with products from this part of the world the specification can be variable...I've seen some Indian made leather jerkins that weren't too good as well...
Nevertheless, I also have some replica uniform items which are pretty good...
I'm interested to see where this particular project goes, what sort of money the final product will cost...and what the quality is like...
Personally, within reason, I'd be prepared to pay more for a top quality, UK manufactured boot....
The above is an observation on what I have seen and an outline of my personal views...
In expressing those views I'm not looking to get into another discussion like the 'bearings thread'....
They are just my views and are offered in the interests of a balanced discussion...Ian.
email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com
Don't rule-out overseas manufacture Dave, but you need to maintain an eye on quality..........Jerry Lee of WPG may be able to advise and help on reliable sources.........?
Just remember that most of the clothing we all wear day-to-day is made overseas........T-shirts, sweat-shirts, jeans, trainers, etc............never had an issue with any of it.................
I'm sure that a similar pair of civvy UK-made boots to the same size as DR boots would be around £150-upwards today if not far more...........but I agree with Ian and if you want a reliable, good quality item that will last for years then it's worth spending the money on a UK product.................but how many times will you realistically wear them ? If half a dozen times a year then that's not value for money spent so a cheaper but good overseas option may be preferable......?
DR boots were still made well into the 1970's.......they were used by MoD Police and the few service motorcyclist's still serving then..............my own DR boots are British made, dated 1974, Size 10L and were new when found at Netley about 6 years ago now for a very reasonable £20......... They are identical to the wartime-version.......and, since acquiring, I've worn them perhaps no more than 3 - 4 times....BD trousers and ankle boots being far more practical and comfortable...........DR boots were also made in metric sizes post-war for the Dutch and Belgian armies and apart from minor variations are also near-identical to the wartime examples................
I used to wear my first pair of DR boots a lot...I found them quite comfortable...A 2500 mile touring holiday round Scotland finally finished them off unfortunately....
I also have a post war pair that I got as replacements, which must be of very late manufacture...
I bought them in unissued condition for £10 from a chap I used to work with who did a lot of car boot sales....The uppers are identical to the wartime pattern but they have a rubber sole...
A lot safer to move about in but I had to add toe and heel plates to get the proper sound...
...
These I haven't worn so much, as it is so much harder to find good examples these days...I generally wear them in Normandy for D Day or other similar special occasions or events when I like to have 'DR' kit on....
I would certainly consider an additional pair if they become available....Ian
email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com
My 1974 WD-made examples Ian still have a leather sole on them.......they have heel irons but not toe irons nor hob-nails...................
Rubber soles may have been an "after-market" addition or fitted to later pairs....? I believe that these boots were still in production and listed until the late-1970s but I haven't got the relevant NSN lists to confirm..............
The one thing they always used to claim about DR boots.........."guaranteed to start anything"...........Lol....
Hi Steve...The boots were new (unused) when I got them and there's no doubt the soles were the original ones, not a later addition...
Possibly the same pattern boot was commissioned from the manufacturer by someone else, with the slightly different spec. (AA, RAC, Home Office, Fire Brigade, Forestry Commission, Milk Marketing Board etc. etc. or any of the other bodies who had motorcycle mounted staff...)...Ian
email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com