Fitting Instructions: Oliver Pattern

The Oliver Pattern is a complex tangle. When it's together its a devil to put on, but when it's on, as long as it's not heavily loaded, it's a smart looking set.

To start the belt must be adjusted to be worn to a comfortably tight fit around the belly button. The yoke and its buckled ends will have to be adjusted to this position which might take repeated takings on and off until all is right.

The yoke divides and splits into six straps. The inner of the forward leading straps (3/4") buckles to a "Y" strap. The backward leading 3/4" strap also connects to the other side of the "Y".

 These two now united as a pair will hook on the two "O" rings on the belt or onto the loops on the ammunition pouch.

The 1” forward strap will lead backwards and buckle onto its own short strap and hook onto the valise. The valise is to be used as the Boer War option, while a great coat roll strap is required as the attachment point for the Great War variation. In both cases the valise or the great coat straps will have the belt threaded through them.

The yoke and its straps can be attached to the belt once the valise or great coat roll are in place. It is a challenge to put the assembly on and may require assistance. If the hooks are too open they might come unhooked. It may be necessary to squeeze the hooks closed so they are slightly tight to engage. At any rate, keep adjusting until all seems balanced for tension. If the fit is right it should be near impossible to get out of the equipment.

Having adjusted the straps the other components can be added. This would be the bayonet frog and the water bottle for the Boer War option. 

The ammunition pouch is more easily added after everything is in place and on the body. It may take some work to loosen the leather so it can be threaded on a belt end. Ultimately it is pulled back to cover the buckle and the forward straps can be attached to it. Alternatively I've seen it set to the right side leaving the belt buckle exposed. This has a certain practical efficiency which may have been discovered by the men who were forced to wear the equipment, and not planned or permitted by those who made them wear it.

The valise can also take the mess tin. It is possible to use the valise straps to snug down the mess tin handle. An extra belt improves the situation. This belt can pass through a central leather lead on top of the valise. 

Also to be worn is the large "Y" strap assembly, called a "cape brace", which passes through the big loop at the middle of the yoke and the keepers on the rear straps. This variously binds and attaches blankets, ground sheets, great coats, and kit bags. The use with a kit bag seems to be the Great War option when the valise has been dispensed with and the blanket roll has taken its place.

Don't forget, all this equipment is available at What Price Glory. Here's the link to use:

                      http://onlinemilitaria.net/shopaff.asp?affid=1497

This photo, below, is in Kingston in the winter of 1915. The soldiers departed for the Western Front in May of that year. Three quarters of the city turned out to watch 1000 men leave. We will commemorate this and the departure of the Queen's University Stationary Hospital Corps in May 2015. See my blog on Great War commemorations.

Another part of the gear is the haversack, worn on the left side under all the leather webbing. If it's empty it can be rolled up and the flap fastens on the rear button to make a kind of sausage roll.

In the Boer War the glass bottle was ceremoniously smashed and replaced with a British tin canteen. By the Great War this canteen was now the classic kidney shape on a sling. The canteen was worn both under and over the leather strapping. Certainly it was easier to get at if it was on top. This photo, taken in England, shows the canteen variously accessible and under a strap.

These old photos give an insight into the real uses of the equipment. In the Great War the Oliver Pattern was never used in action. Below, on Salisbury Plain, the "cape brace" is seen on some and not others, while one man's mess tin has completely slipped.

Here, below, another option for the ammo pouch means it's actually accessible.

And note in this last photo just how high everything is worn.

Fitting Instructions: P'08 Webbing

These fitting instructions are taken from experience and a read of the official Mills fitting instructions which can be read in the Karkee Web site. Go to their P'08 page and click on the fitting instructions. A click on the image of the page will enlarge it so it can be read. A great place to explore.

http://www.karkeeweb.com/1908main.html#1908

The essential idea about the P'08 equipment is the fact that it can be adjusted to be snug so that it doesn't ride up at the front, and the claim is that it can be worn with the belt unbuckled and still hang comfortably. When put together all parts will remain in secure position so that it can be taken off with ease and put on again in the dark in an instant. Try this with the Oliver Pattern equipment and you will need to be Harry Houdini to succeed.

To assemble the equipment the first step is to fit the belt around the stomach at the belly button level. The belt end without the buckle is on the left, back tabs on the outside of the belt. The belt end passes through the closed part of the buckle and then reverses back and through the open "horns" of the buckle on the left side. Adjust so the tab ends of the belt are equal on both sides and the back buckles and tabs are centred on the back.

The open horns of the buckles allows for an easy threading of the webbing by pinching the straps and working the webbing in to the horns through the middle space.

The belt can now removed and the bayonet frog slipped onto the left side.

Next work the left hand ammunition pouch onto the belt using the open brass loops. The 1/2" tabs with snaps pass around to be snapped onto the front of the carrier. When the bayonet is worn the handle best lies between the rear most pocket and the next, with the 1/2" tab unsnapped. The same attachment can be made in reverse for the right hand side.

Now the braces must be attached to the rear buckles on the belt. They should first be set to the same length as the rear fixed tabs. The two inch friction buckles on the braces need to be placed so the open end faces forward, and the closed end faces to the back straps. 

The braces lead off the belt crossing each other and passing straight down the front of the assembly, passing through the buckles on the ammo pouches and down the inside face. They will enter the buckle on the closed side and then be passed through and out the open section of the buckle to finish at the same length as the fixed straps on the pouches. Try the whole assembly on to correct for tension and to ensure that the braces have not been twisted. All other components of the P'08 equipment can now be added to this basic strapping.

The next stage is best carried out on the floor with the equipment spread out, the outside face up.

The original intention of the P'08 equipment was to place the entrenching tool head carrier on the right side. In practise it ended up on the rear hanging from the two tabs fixed to the belt. The tabs should pass through the closed buckle end first and then the open end so the strap passes behind the carrier. This ensures easy access to the tool.

The canteen fastens to the two remaining strap ends on the right side.

The haversack goes on the left over the bayonet.

If a large pack is to be worn it is placed over the crossing back straps and attached by its short upper tabs to the two buckles on the shoulder braces. The bottom of the pack should be level with the bottom of the belt. The large pack is provided with two long supporting straps. These straps are to be buckled to the two diagonally placed straps leading from the ammunition pouches. They then pass through the buckles on the bottom of the large pack, criss-cross the pack, and reattach into the buckles just over the top of the large pack. 

The intention of this strapping is two-fold. Firstly the attachment to the ammunition straps ensures that the weight is transfered to the belt and supported by the waist. The upper tabs on the large pack are to hold the pack to the back, not to support the weight. Secondly the crossing support straps bind the pack tightly to stop the movement of the contents.

Some adjustment is required to achieve the desired snugness and transfer of weight. The official WWI booklet recommended a placement of a mark on the straps to make future assembly quicker. However the set-up is essentially fixed until it is undone or changed. This was seen as a great advantage in the event of a quick call to arms since everything would always be ready to go. 

The wearing of the large pack was the "marching order". On the march soldiers had the option to rearrage the smaller items, one manifestation of the haversack even allowing the canteen to be attached to it so all equipment could be hung from the back, thus leaving the sides free. The belt could also be unbuckled to allow the tunic to be undone and the connected back strapping would not sag.

There was also a "battle order" which essentially consisted of replacing the large pack with the haversack worn low to the belt and similarly fastened to the diagonal ammo pouch straps, or not as may often have been the case in practice when on a march. The mess tin hangs from the straps, a beautiful case of the simplest solution being the best.

Notice in this last photo how the belt lies between the upper and lower pockets. This is the right height.

The brilliance of the open horn ( or "open gate" ) buckles becomes apparent if adjustments are made when gear is under strain...even just undoing a tight belt. And there are no loose components to jingle, a life saver for sure at times.

This equipment is all available through What Price Glory. Here's the link to their site:

                      http://onlinemilitaria.net/shopaff.asp?affid=1497

Reproduction P'08 Webbing

YWhen I first got into WWI collecting I was seeking original P’08 webbing to complete my grandfather's old set. Then I discovered reproduction gear and saw that it was a cheaper route that kept artifacts in safe cupboards where they belonged.

I didn't buy much at first because the reproduction Mills ammunition pouches always seemed to be made from folded and pleated canvas rather than as pockets woven with integrated tapering puckers and internal separators. For me this was a huge matter of authenticity. I guess we all have our lines of what we will accept and what we won't. Here are the left hand ammo pouches of my grandfather's set.

Then one day it all changed. What Price Glory put out a set made, I presume, on an old loom.

Here's the link to their site. This equipment can be yours too, and after reading this blog you will know how to put it on!

                      http://onlinemilitaria.net/shopaff.asp?affid=1497

Schipperfabrik has also produced such a set, though it may not be currently available. Military History Workshops also seems to be doing puckered sets, apparently out of reworked P'37 equipment. 

Similarly I'm taken by What Price Glory's attention to the detail of the finer lining in the entrenching tool carrier. This had intrigued me in my grandfather's example because it was such a caring act, like a well made bed, for something so utilitarian as a digging implement.

There's nothing worse, though, than a brand new set of Mills webbing. I've given mine good soaks but don't dry the gear in the sun! The webbing goes a strange orange colour. I had to correct that by dipping it in a slimy mud puddle and leaving the webbing in a plastic bag in the hot sun for a few hours. A good rinse and a shaded dry later and they were fine.

Another small detail, easy if you have an entrenching tool head, is to force a depression in the canvas at the hole on the tool. This look is a standard result of usage over time.

For the water canteen WPG is making a passable reproduction but the top is flat, not crowned, and the enamel is not real. It seems not too hard to find original blue canteens made, I think, into the 30s. My WPG canteen has been lined with hot bee's wax so water is drinkable, but that might be bad advice, so take it with caution. An old green bottle in a new or old cover is easily painted around the neck with blue paint for the right look. WPG makes great reproduction corks.

Belts and braces can be bought for bigger sizes, though at 5’6” I'm about normal for 100 years ago. I've had to cut back my braces to 50" to be right for me. That means re-riveting one end. Belts in the Great War came at small, medium and large.

As for the frog I've done a bit of creative re-stitching to fit my tool handle which seemed too tight.

The haversack makes a great small bag and can fit an iPad. Who would have thought? Is the original a tighter weave? Or is that extra stiffness just the effect of time and grime? 

I have not yet bought a large pack reproduction because I seem to find WWII ones easily enough and they're a great substitute unless they have steel tab ends. They need to be brass. 

The Israeli army was using near identical packs in the 70s but their canvas colour was loathsome. Nonethless I used an Israeli pack to make a mock-up of the 1916 pack with leather strapping fastened on with hot glue. I covered the surface with measurement details and instructions. From this Ashok has made perfect reproductions as seen below.

                      http://onlinemilitaria.net/shopaff.asp?affid=1497

Blog as Brag

What is a blog? When I first got into these blogs were my way of excitedly sharing those things that I'm fascinated by. I realized a blog was my own magazine and I soon discovered that people actually read these things and would respond. I've helped and been helped by many readers.

There's a certain brag element too, and I hope I haven't entered that camp too often. But a blog is a personal statement and perhaps a certain self back-patting can be allowed. To that end I want to boast about the Canadian Great War equipment that I have helped into being as reproductions. I should emphasize, however, that nothing occurs in isolation and my efforts would not have been possible, nor come to anything, without the generosity of owners and collectors, and the inimitable energy, commitment, and skill of Ashok and Jerry of What Price Glory.

So here is my list of the projects I have worked on and so ensured that these items are in the world for us to enjoy and to help us remember.

The seven button tunic is the base of it all.

Onto this can be added the Oliver Pattern components including the water bottle carrier, the yoke, the haversack, the Lee Metford frog, and the valise.

For the 1915 pattern my contribution is most indebted to others and I feel honoured to have been trusted with so much cooperative inspection and delving. I hope the results are proven right where we only had photos to go by. The ammo pouches were a combined effort while the haversack was made an easy task by having a borrowed one to make a mock-up from. The back pack required some divining from photos.

In the 1916 gear I only played a part with the back pack.  Working out the back pack was an effort that required a pleasant visit to the Canadian War Museum. Then I discovered the value of making a mock-up from which Ashok could work his magic.

Here's the link to the What Price Glory web site: 

                      http://onlinemilitaria.net/shopaff.asp?affid=1497

Currently I'm getting involved in reproducing badges. Most recently I've had made the 21st Battalion cap badge and the PPCLI Marguerite cap badge. For information in how to purchase thes items please email me.

I'm about to get into the Canadian nurses' buckles as a project.

I'll report on that as it happens.

April update:

The trouble with all these blog pages is you forget what you've said and where.

The update is that the reproduction is made and now available. Here it is:

Also available are Canadian Medical Corps badges.