History of Samuel Gawith Squadron Leader

[fella]

Hello all!
This is my first post as a member. I am quite the fan of Samuel Gawith Squadron Leader, and I have Google searched to learn about its history to no avail. I would love any information on when this tobacco was first blended, as well as any other historical information anyone may have
Thank you!

 

[pipesmokingtom]

Hello and welcome!
I can't personally help you with history, but am also a fan of SL.
Took me a bit to figure out how long it needs to dry before lighting, but it's a nice mild English with some tangy Orientals that I find quite nice!

 

[mayfair70]

Synchronicity is weird. I just bought my first ever tin of Squadron Leader a few hours ago. I agree it is a tangy mild English and very smooth. Good stuff !!

 

[pipesmokingtom]

Glad you found another blend to like! I really need to dry it down quite a bit so it doesn't scorch the hell out of me, but I don't think it loses much in flavor almost all the way dry.

 

[kodos44]

Welcome Fella!
I think that this is a fantastic question and one that begs some serious research. It would be fantastic to know when there is a significance to the name of a blend and why and by whom the name was given.

 

[mig19]

My current favorite.

 

[oldmansmoking]

Welcome to this great forum. Was going to put Squadron Leader on my Birthday list but after watching YouTube "Stuff and things" changed it too

Dunhill nightcap. Not tried either just going by youtube recommendations.

Let me know what you think.

Don't forget to put a picture on your profile.
George

 

[condorlover1]

Its been around forever as you see empty tins advertised on Ebay every so often. I have certainly seen tins going back to the early 1960s for sale on that site and I am sure it has been around for much longer. I personally have never smoked the stuff but it certainly has its devoted followers.

 

[jguss]

I'm not sure when it was launched but gather it was named explicitly in honor of British WWI and WWII pilots, suggesting its introduction post-dates the Second World War.

 

[jpmcwjr]

It's an exceptionally cool name, honoring those who served in the RAF.
Note: Not a tail gunner, navigator or mere pilot, but the damn leader, suggesting that that fellow had great judgment in smoking that blend!

 

[oldreddog]

"I'm not sure when it was launched but gather it was named explicitly in honor of British WWI and WWII pilots, suggesting its introduction post-dates the Second World War"
I wonder what the Pole,South African and Irish aces thought of that.

 

[fella]

I just reached out to Gawith Hogarth. I’ll report back if and when I hear from them

 

[jvnshr]

misterlowercase could have had an answer I guess.

 

[jvnshr]

Indeed, he had an answer:
Thread - Lakelands - An Attempt To Understand The Famous Gawith Scents

Full Virginia and Squadron Leader were first produced in around 1925, we know this from a firsthand source, as quoted in this thread:

Thread - Sam Gawith History

Dear Sir

When SG was formed in 1792, the original lines were of snuff.
SG introduced tobaccos to the market sometime about 1830 – 1840, nobody is sure about the actual date. 1792 was an original but was marketed as a plug, which was a popular way of using pipe tobacco then. It was introduced as Cob. We changed the name of the flake to 1792 in about 2000, the plug still bears the name “Cob”.
Full Virginia and SQL was introduced in about 1925, so they are youngsters so to speak.

Factory Tour (Photos)
Factory Tour (Photos) - 2

 

[metalheadycigarguy]

Squadron Leader is nice, Perfection is really good, and Skiff Mixture is great! If you like Squadron Leader and haven't tried the other two then I suggest doing so. You won't be disappointed.

 

[madox07]

Hey guys, it seems that there is an earlier thread here about the history of the blend. Check it out - it is form 5 years ago.
http://pipesmagazine.com/forums/topic/whats-plane-on-the-squadron-leader-tin-history-of-the-blend
I like samuel gawith, but for some reason I detest the thickness of their flakes. I always have to rub it out in order to smoke it, I can never get the fold and smoke method to work for me due to thickness.
I also like their navy flake !

 

[fella]

I received a response from Gawith Hoggarth this morning (I will be crossposting to some other pipe enthusiast sites). I for one will be looking for the original blend reproduction!
(The pictures mentioned in the response did indeed come through in a later email, but I don't have a way of hosting them.)

Good morning,
Thank you for your interest in our Squadron Leader and also for your loyalty to the brand.
The history of the brand is quite thin but over the years through my own interest and looking at old correspondence, I can offer the following information.

We are reasonably certain that the first production was in the mid 30’s. I have attached a picture of the original tin we used which, as you can see, was one of a hinge lid design. It is reasonable to assume that the tobacco was packed into a waxed paper bag to preserve its integrity.
The ORIGINAL recipe was quite different to today inasmuch the we produced two different types of tobacco.
Type one was , as today, a mixture, but the recipe included a dose of Louisiana Perique in addition to the Virginias, Latakia and Turkish tobaccos.
The second recipe was in fact a Curly Cut tobacco. In that period a major part of our tobacco production focussed on Twist tobacco, or Rope, for the mining and quarrying industries in the UK. As a natural progression of this production, we developed SQL in this format and cut the tobacco into discs, similar to our Cabbies or Escudo and Three Nuns tobacco.
I have no information as to when we finished this production but, for the purpose of economical viability due to the escalating costs of Perique, SQL continued to be made as it is today with Bright and steamed Virginias, Turkish and Latakia.
This did not reduce sales for us and, today, SQL is still our number one mixture.
In 2008 I produced a limited edition run of 500 tins for the Chicago Pipe Club using the original ingredients. I took this to Chicago and believe it or not, sold out of the 499 tins ( kept Number 1) in a morning.
This year we are planning to re-produce the original brand of SQL for, again, a limited run, such is the appeal and demand for us to do so. This brand will be exclusive to the major on-line retailer in the US so keep the eyes open and treat yourself.
I have attached a photograph of tin number 1 of the 2008 run and, as you can see, the characteristic golds and browns have changed to a beautiful dark tobacco which is still moist and delicious to the palate.
I do hope that I have enlightened you with this limited amount of SQL history.
Best regards

Bob
Pictures to follow

 

[woodsroad]

Interesting info, and very nice that he got back to you so quickly, but I wonder how exactly they plan on legally introducing a new pipe tobacco blend to the US.

 

[tslex]

As you will see from the old thread linked above, my expertise runs much more to military aviation (I covered it as a newsman and was and remain a casual student of its history) than to tobacciana.

 

[alainharvey]

My understanding from research into the history of this brand of tobacco is that it is named in honor of the Royal Air Force pilots who flew Gloster Gladiator biplanes in the early days of the second World War, Samuel Gawith’s Squadron Leader for me embodies a quintessential, all-day English blend of Latakia, Turkish, and Virginia tobaccos. Its original recipe dates back to 1925, prior to WWII, and incorporated Perique.
In 2015, Smokingpipes collaborated with Bob Gregory of Samuel Gawith on a limited edition run of this original Squadron Leader recipe. It’s still very much an English blend, but the Perique adds a subtly sweet and spicy aftertaste for a slightly fuller, more nuanced variation. The response from customers was so positive that Smokingpipes released another small-batch in 2018 of 3,000 tins and were met with a similar frenzy of orders.
In 2019, Smokingpipes increased their order to 4,500 50g tins of the original recipe Squadron Leader with perique which became available to the public on on August 28, 2019 . This most recent offering, limited to the purchase of six tins per customer, sold out within the first two days of being offered.
Hopefully another offering will be made this coming year. One takeaway is that this tobacco sells out very fast once it goes on sale and should be purchased by anyone interested in this compelling blend without delay to avoid disappointment.