Original maps printed onto synthetic silk published circa 1953. Double sided: Archangle / Namso, - , Rasht / Baku.

These evasion maps are of the type used by pilots and Special Forces during the cold war, which themselves are reprints fo the World War 2 ones.

The idea of them came from the research of Clayton Hutton, an eccentric MI9 British Army Officer who had fifty tre WW1 escape stories from various second hand bookshops delivered to the sixth form at Rugby School.  The pupils wee then asked to read the books and suumarise the key elements and one that always stood out: an escape map.

Hutton approached map making company, Bartholomew's and persuaded them to waive their copyright on maps for the war effort.  Hutton had the maps printed onto pure silk, as silk was quiet, rustle free and easy to hide or sew inside clothing.

The aps ere issued to the RAF and Speical Forces throughout WW2 and beyond into the cold war period of the 1950s when they were issued on to synthetic silk cloth.

The Basra/Baghdad 1953 issue one came back into use again many yeears later for SAS Special Forces prior to the Gulf War of 1991, as newer maps were not available.