Silk Maps

Silk maps were one of the most ingenious ideas of the Second World War. During WWII, thousands of maps were produced by the British on silk, thin cloth and tissue paper. The idea was that a serviceman captured or shot down in enemy territory should have the map to help avoid capture or find his way to safety. Silk maps were issued specially to airmen so that they could sew them into their clothes or wear them around their neck. They could also be cunningly concealed in a cigarette packet or within the hollowed-out heal of a boot and they would never make a suspicious rustling sound if the captive was searched.

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