A DRESS crafted from silk maps to help British airmen avoid capture by Japanese troops during the Second World War is being exhibited after selling for an undisclosed sum.

It is believed the historic garment was created by a housewife in the post-war period, when materials such as silk were rationed.

The dress features four 1944 escape and evade maps of northern French Indochina, which were issued to the RAF and Special Forces.

While it has been estimated tens of thousands of Allied troops escaped from enemy territory using the silk maps during the war, North Yorkshire vintage fashion retailer Cathy Smith said research had revealed only two other similar garments.

They are exhibits at the Imperial War Museum and Victoria and Albert Museum, both in London.

The maps were created by MI9 Army intelligence officer Clayton Hutton, after analysis of First World War escape stories revealed maps were key to successful escapes.

Silk was used for the waterproofed maps, which were also smuggled into prisoner of war camps, as it could be easily hidden or sewn inside clothing.

Ms Smith, of Catherine Smith Vintage Fashion, Harrogate, said she believed the lining of the dress may have been fashioned from black-out blind fabric and that its maker could have sourced her the maps from Army surplus shops in the 1940s and followed a pattern published in a magazine.

She added she believed the short-sleeved dress, which she bought from a trader and been sold to a private collector, was worn as a house coat, while a housewife carried out her chores.

Ms Smith said the garment had attracted a huge amount of interest and would remain on display at her store in Harrogate’s Cold Bath Road until August 1.

She said: “While the dress isn’t incredibly valuable, very few items of original silk map clothing have survived and it certainly has a rarity.

“It is an interesting and unique piece of social history.

“Post-war, clothing and fabric were still under wartime restrictions and women were still subject to ‘fashion on the ration’.

“However, as rolls of these printed silk maps had become surplus to requirements, when available they were resourcefully acquired by women and used to make clothing.”