BEagle,
".....they looked quite absurd..."
But a lot cooler ! The "Betty Grable" (ask Grandad) idea of rolling up shorts was popular in India, too. The issue KDs quite often hung below the knee. (Yes, I know you could get the same result with a pair of scissors, but your average erk was not too good at hemstitching).
Nobody bothered about it, we just got on with the war.
D.