Original British WWI Royal Flying Corps Officer’s Uniform Button Set With Case – Private Purchase – Hawkes & Co Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. Now this is an interesting, yet beautiful button set with the original case. The officer, as most officers, thought ahead and wanted to be prepared in the event he has to replace a button on his uniform. It was extremely important, especially to British military officers, to always uphold a proper and professional military appearance.

We believe these buttons to be replacements for either the cuffs on service uniforms or possibly for the top shoulder flaps. They are too small to be pocket buttons or tunic closure buttons. They measure approximately ½” in diameter.

The 6 buttons and 6 backing rings have tarnished over the past 100 years or so and the purple felt pad in which the buttons and the rings sit has faded from purple to brown. The original color of the pad can still be seen beneath the buttons. The supplier of these buttons and case is printed on the inside felt lining of the top:

HAWKES & CO LTD
1, SAVILE ROW. W
LATE
14, PICADILLY

The box measures approximately 5” x 2” x 1” and is in great condition considering the age. Some of the black finish on the leather is worn around the edges and bottom. The case lid release button still functions properly and still “clicks” when closing the case, securing the lid shut.

This is an incredible, seldom seen button set for the RFC from one of the most prestigious tailors in the world.

Comes ready to display in your Royal Flying Corps collections!

Hawkes & Co
Gieves & Hawkes is a bespoke men’s tailor and menswear retailer located at №1 Savile Row, London, and was founded in 1771. Gieves and Hawkes is one of the oldest continual bespoke tailoring companies in the world. The company holds a number of Royal Warrants, which enables the supplier to advertise the fact that they supply to the royal family. Today the company still provides ready-to-wear as well as bespoke and military tailoring. The current creative director is John Harrison.

Gieves & Hawkes’ business was originally based on catering to the needs of the British Army and the Royal Navy, and hence by association the British Royal family. After coming to London in 1760, Thomas Hawkes established his first shop in 1771 in Brewer Street, selling to gentlemen. His main clients were commanders of the British Army, through which King George III became a customer. He expanded his retail operation by moving to No.17 (later number No.14) Piccadilly in 1793, where he gained the first of many Royal Warrants in 1809.

In 1835, 15 year old James Watson Gieve was employed by Augustus Meredith, a Portsmouth-based tailor by appointment to the Royal Navy. In 1852, Gieve partnered with Joseph Galt, whose father John had taken over Meredith’s business and in 1887, Gieve purchased the remaining shares to form Gieves & Co. He died in 1888.

On 23 December 1912, Hawkes & Co. bought №1 Savile Row from the Royal Geographical Society for £38,000, in part because the firm had dressed so many explorers. In 1974, Gieves Ltd acquired Hawkes & Co., and the freehold of 1 Savile Row. The company was renamed Gieves & Hawkes. In 2009, Kathryn Sargent of Gieves and Hawkes became the first female head cutter in Savile Row. The company also produces the uniforms for the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms.

Royal Flying Corps
The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was the air arm of the British Army before and during the First World War until it merged with the Royal Naval Air Service on 1 April 1918 to form the Royal Air Force. During the early part of the war, the RFC supported the British Army by artillery co-operation and photographic reconnaissance. This work gradually led RFC pilots into aerial battles with German pilots and later in the war included the strafing of enemy infantry and emplacements, the bombing of German military airfields and later the strategic bombing of German industrial and transport facilities.

At the start of World War I the RFC, commanded by Brigadier-General Sir David Henderson, consisted of five squadrons – one observation balloon squadron (RFC No 1 Squadron) and four aeroplane squadrons. These were first used for aerial spotting on 13 September 1914 but only became efficient when they perfected the use of wireless communication at Aubers Ridge on 9 May 1915. Aerial photography was attempted during 1914, but again only became effective the next year. By 1918, photographic images could be taken from 15,000 feet and were interpreted by over 3,000 personnel. Parachutes were not available to pilots of heavier-than-air craft in the RFC – nor were they used by the RAF during the First World War – although the Calthrop Guardian Angel parachute (1916 model) was officially adopted just as the war ended. By this time parachutes had been used by balloonists for three years.

On 17 August 1917, South African General Jan Smuts presented a report to the War Council on the future of air power. Because of its potential for the ‘devastation of enemy lands and the destruction of industrial and populous centres on a vast scale’, he recommended a new air service be formed that would be on a level with the Army and Royal Navy. The formation of the new service would also make the under-used men and machines of the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) available for action on the Western Front and end the inter-service rivalries that at times had adversely affected aircraft procurement. On 1 April 1918, the RFC and the RNAS were amalgamated to form a new service, the Royal Air Force (RAF), under the control of the new Air Ministry. After starting in 1914 with some 2,073 personnel, by the start of 1919 the RAF had 4,000 combat aircraft and 114,000 personnel in some 150 squadrons.