RARE ATS PRIVATE PURCHASE SHOES

This is a pair of Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS), Officer’s Private‑Purchase Pattern shoes Date: c.1941–1944.  These look unworn and have no marks to the shoe.  However there are marks on the sole of the shoe

Material: Smooth brown leather, stacked leather heel, leather sole

Description

A pair of brown smooth‑leather lace‑up shoes of the type worn by officers of the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) during the Second World War.  Each shoe has five eyelets for lacing and a stacked leather heel exceeding one inch, a feature associated with officer‑grade or private‑purchase footwear rather than standard Utility‑issue examples.

The uppers display purpose‑formed vamp flex lines, created during manufacture by shaping and pre‑creasing the leather over the last. This technique is typical of higher‑quality private‑purchase shoes supplied by civilian outfitters to ATS officers, offering improved comfort and a more refined appearance compared to standard issue footwear.

The shoes retain their original brown laces and exhibit the clean, smooth finish characteristic of officer‑grade leather rather than the pebbled Utility leather used for enlisted ranks.

Inside each shoe is a stamped wartime production code:

“S 41401 4”  This code is interpreted as follows:

“S” – Manufacturer’s identification letter, assigned to a small British shoe‑making firm contracted to supply women’s service footwear.

“41401” – Wartime pattern/contract series number. Numbers in the 41xxx range correspond to Ministry of Supply contracts issued between 1941 and 1944 for ATS and other women’s service shoes.

“4” – The last size used in manufacture. This differs from the wearer size (4½), which is marked separately. The use of last‑size stamping is typical of wartime British military footwear.

As you can see, No CC41 Utility mark is present, which is consistent with officer‑grade private‑purchase items, which were not subject to Utility restrictions.

This style of shoe formed part of the Service Dress and Walking‑Out Dress worn by ATS personnel. While enlisted women were issued a lower‑heeled, pebbled‑leather Utility shoe, officers were permitted — and often expected — to obtain their own footwear from approved civilian outfitters. These private‑purchase examples were generally of finer leather, with higher heels and improved comfort.

Significance

This pair represents the higher‑quality officer’s variant of ATS footwear and illustrates the distinction between Utility‑issue items and privately purchased officer equipment. The presence of a wartime contract number combined with officer‑grade construction makes this an excellent and relatively uncommon example of mid‑war ATS dress standards.

The newspaper pushed in to keep the shape was put in 35 years.