'Bombay bloomer' khaki drill shorts : British army

Pair of khaki cotton drill 'Bombay Bloomers' as issued to Australian soldiers in Malaya. The bloomers can be worn as trousers or, by folding back the bell-bottom shaped legs and fastening them to the buttons situated high-up at the crutch and outer thigh, as shorts. They feature a wide waistband with a series of upward buttoning belt loops, have hip pockets and a shell dressing pocket at the front of the upper right left. They are fastened at the front by means of a double tongue and buckle system and a buttoned fly. Buttons are a mixture of brass and bone. No makers or personal markings.

Nick-named 'Bombay Bloomers' from their initial manufacture and adoption in the 1930s in tropical areas of the British empire, such as India, Burma and Malaya, these khaki drill trousers were designed to be folded up and buttoned at the thigh as 'long' shorts that finished just below the knee. They were folded down and worn as short trousers in colder conditions, or at night in tropical areas as a defence against malaria, when they were closed by a drawstring threaded through a casing in each cuff, and held against the leg with puttees or long socks with canvas anklets.

Bombay Bloomers were widely worn by members of the British 8th Army in North Africa, although Australians in this campaign mostly wore standard issue shorts. In the Malayan campaign of 1941-1942, men of the Australian 8th Division were often issued with Bombay Bloomers which were universally disliked.
This particular pair were made in Britain in 1941 or later, when the position of the field dressing pocket was moved from the right rear to the front.