These snowshoes are very similar to the Truger or Bear Paw ones that we have elsewhere in the collection, but the absence of any markings and slightly different construction makes us think that they are very good – homemade copies – hard to tell as they came with the Scottish Ski Club Collection and we don’t know the original owner. The war department(WD)had large amounts of equipment made on licence during both World Wars, by various companies with the relevant expertise, and it’s possible that these snow shoes are of that ilk. No doubt there is a record somewhere in an archive – maybe we’ll try to find it one day. We do know that large amounts of ex WD came on the market soon after World War 2 (see advert opposite) to be gobbled up by the burgeoning outdoor enthusiasts of the 1950’s.