UNIFORM & KIT ISSUED TO THE CANADIAN ARMY DURING WW2

This pictorial library is devoted to the recording of "Uniform and Kit" issued to a Canadian Soldier of any corps, during the Second World War. Consider it a virtual "Q" Store in Canadian militaria. It is not exhaustive and will be added to over time. Any reader who wishes to contribute photographs and text will be recognised and credited with such information. I also invite collectors of other nation's militaria to forward content (please see our other countries listed on the drop down menu) - so that a comprehensive list of "Axis" and "Allies" uniform/kit is detailed.

THIS WEBPAGE IS CONSTANTLY BEING ADDED TO - SO PLEASE VISIT AGAIN

Pattern 37 Gaiters

A different version of the Pattern 37 Gaiters. Whilst the manufacturer is unknown, they are dated 1942 and the numeral '1' is an indicator of the size. I have seen photographs of Canadian, British, New Zealand and Australian troops - wearing this type of gaiter. A pair of gaiters similar to this (but with brass tabs on the end of the straps) were issued to NX115723 Corporal Franklin George HOLLANDS who served with the Lae Fortress Workshops AIF. These are in the Kokoda Historical Collection with his uniform.

Pattern 37 Belt

The Pattern 37 Web Belt was used by all British Commonwealth troops and experienced quite an extensive service life (albeit with some slight modifications). The belt consisted of a 2 & 1/4" (2 and one quarter inch) wide piece of webbing which had a front and a reverse side. The reverse side had a continuous series of small "pockets" woven into the belt. The very tip of each end of the belt, was fitted with a brass encasement from which two brass prongs protruded. The belt was adjustable; so that once the desired width of the waist was ascertained, the excess length folded back onto itself and passed through a brass keeper. The 'prongs' at the tip of the belt, slotted into a small 'pocket' on the inner edge of the belt. Thus, the desired length was secured and this system prevented the belt from inadvertantly working open and becoming loose on the wearer. (PLEASE REFER TO THE PHOTOGRAPH) As can be seen in this picture, the belt has been adjusted to size, however the brass prongs have yet to be inserted into the securing pockets. The length of the belt was secured by way of a brass "male & female" buckle arrangement. The original design of the Pattern 37 belt that went into production for war service, had two 1" brass buckles sewn onto the rear of the belt. These buckles sat where the 'small' of the back would be on the wearer. The Pattern 37 Shoulder Brace straps passed through these buckles, which supported the weight of the load carrying equipment once the set was put together for wear. From a collector's perspective, it is unfortunate that the Army adapted this belt for "Parade" use, by removing the two rear 1 inch buckles. The subsequent result being that many surviving belts are missing the two rear buckles.

Pattern 37 Web Equipment - Water Bottle Carrier (Belt Modification)

The Canadian Government had a very extensive textile capability; and as a result many items of Pattern 37 Web Equipment were exported. Australia in particular, received vast amounts of Canadian equipment. This carried on until such time as the Australian Government itself began production from 1943 onwards. The Australians produced a carrier, based on the standard Pattern 37 skeleton - however with a wider horizontal strap. This wider brace was fitted with two brass hooks, which provided the ability to fixing the water bottle carrier to the standard Pattern 37 waist belt. In keeping with this, much of the existing stock of water bottle carriers were modified to allow this same capability. This photograph clearly shows the extra web piece with two brass hooks, which facilitate the fixing of the waterbottle carrier to a standard Pattern 37 web belt. Whilst this modification is believed to have been carried out in Australia, this original piece was manufactured in Canada and subsequently has been included in the Canadian kit.

Pattern 37 Utility Yoke Straps (2 inch)

A pair of 2" Yoke Straps of Pattern 37 Web Equipment. A single strap of this type was required to join certain pouches together. Initially used to join together two magazine pouches for the Lewis Light Machine Gun; this type of yoke was also used to join the Pattern 37 Utility Pouches. The ink stamping indicates that these items were made by the Canadian company, "Z L & T" (Zephyr Loom & Textile Ltd) during 1942. The ink stamping of a Government acceptance make 'broad arrow' is also evident.

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