W.E. Patt. '08 Waist belts
Introduced with the W.E. Patt. '08 by List of Changes entry LoC 14288, dated 31st January 1908, the Belt, waist, was the center of the W.E. Patt. '08 system. All of the components attached to the Belt, the Braces, or both. This allowed the entire Web Equipment to be put on and taken off fully assembled, like a waistcoat. This was a significant improvement over earlier patterns, in which each item had its own sling or strap and had to be put on separately. The Waist belt underwent several changes during its service life.
As first introduced with W.E., Patt. '08, the Waist belt was 3-inches wide and came in two lengths, Small (40-inches long) and Large (48-inches long). The Belt is fastened by a double Twigg buckle at the front, and is adjustable at the buckle end. There are two 2-inch web tabs attached at the rear. These tabs are angled outwards. Each tab has a 2-inch Twigg buckle at the top and a brass tip on the bottom end. In the early Belts, such as the one shown here, this is a plain brass tip that is simply crimped in place. This belt is maker marked "M.E. Co.", size marked "S", and dated 1908.
List of Changes entry LoC No. 14687, dated 4th May 1909 added a Medium size (44-inches long) belt to W.E., Patt. '08.
Later that same year, List of Changes entry LoC No. 15048, dated 22nd November 1909, made a number of changes to the pattern. The only one of these changes that affected the Belt was the change from plain brass tips to eyeletted ones on all tabs and straps. The Belt shown left is in the new Medium size (mark "M") and has the eyeletted tips on the rear tabs. It is maker marked "M.E. Co." and dated 1911.
Here are three Mk. I Patt. '08 Belts. All are maker marked "M.E. Co." From top to bottom they are marked Small, dated 1908; Medium, dated 1912; and Large, dated 1915.
This detail shows the changes to the brass tips specified in LoC No. 15048. The upper Belt is dated 1911, the lower one 1908.
The Belt, waist, special, was added to W.E., Patt. '08 by List of Changes entry LoC No. 16513, dated 5th March 1913, amended 11th July 1913. This LoC entry also introduced the Attachments, brace; the Case, pistol, Webley, with brass hooks; and the Pouch, ammunition, Webley, with brass hooks. Together with the standard Patt. '08 Braces, these components form the Patt. '08 Pistol Order. The Special belt is identical to the regular Belt except at the rear. The 2-inch buckled chapes do not have the down tabs found on the regular Belt, and there are two additional 1-inch buckled chapes on the inside, the buckles facing inward and down. These are used to secure the 1-inch angled straps at the rear of the Brace attachments. This example is a Mark II version (see below), and is maker marked "M.E. Co." and dated 1919.
These details show the inside and outside rear chapes and buckles of the Special Waist belt. Originally stamped "L", this Belt has been remarked as "M". Its length actually falls in between the specified lengths for the Mk. II Medium and Large Belts.
The Belt, waist, Mark II replaced the W.E., Patt. '08 Belt, waist, Mark I in accordance with List of Changes entry LoC No. 17272, dated 26th May 1915. This LoC entry redefined the Belt sizes. Size Small increased from 40-inches to 44-inches long (same as the Mk. I Medium). Size Medium increased from 44-inches to 50-inches long (2-inches longer than a Mk. I Large). Size Large increased from 48-inches to a heroic 56-inches long. These changes applied to both the regular Waist belt and the Special waist belt. I have seen pictures of apparently genuine Patt. '08 Waist belts marked XL and XXL. These may have been private purchase items. The example shown here is maker marked "M.E. Co." and dated 1919.
Late in the War, several components of W.E. Patt. '08 were made in wartime "Economy" versions. In this Belt, the reinforcing rivets have been omitted from the rear tabs, and the flat rolled brass slide to the left of the buckle has been replaced with a simple brass wire loop. This example, maker marked "M.W. & S. Ltd." and dated 1918, is from the collection of Peter Crosby. Photos © Peter Crosby 2008.
Detail showing the rear tabs. The reinforcing rivets are gone and the tabs are simply sewn in place.
This "Walking Out" Belt is simply a Pattern 1908 Waist belt with the rear tabs left off. This was normally a private purchase item, used in place of the Patt. '08 Belt when Web Equipment was not being worn. This example, though, is marked "1 CVR" (1st Cheshire Vol. Regt.?). Perhaps some Volunteer units used them as uniform equipment. This example is maker marked "M.E. Co." and dated 1916.
This type of Waist belt is often encountered, but it is not part of the W.E. Patt. '08, at least not in this form. This Belt is converted from a Patt. '08 Brace by cutting off one brass tip and sewing on the 2-inch single Twigg buckle used as a sliding buckle on the Braces. I have documented these as being used in Canada and New Zealand, and they very likely were used in other parts of the Empire as well. Some of them, like this example, are expertly converted, suggesting that the conversion was officially done. Others can be quite crude, and are likely an unofficial "barracks" modification. This example is maker marked "M.E. Co." and dated 1915, but that applies to the Brace - the conversion to Waist belt could have been done at any time. In Barry and Matthew O'Sullivan's New Zealand Army Personal Equipment 1910-1945, the authors' father, Brian O'Sullivan, is shown wearing an identical Belt in training in 1952.
Another, more elaborate version of the Converted waist belt. Again fabricated from a 2-inch Patt. '08 Brace and Twigg buckle, this Belt also has a web slide and this web keeper, a design that looks to be patterned after the B.E. Patt. '03 Belt, waist, web. The only marking is a "52" " size designator. From the Tim Weller Collection, photos © Tim Weller 2009.
A detail of the same Belt, showing the very professional construction technique.
Although this Waist belt is not a part of Web Equipment, Pattern 1908, its similarities to Patt. '08 are obvious. It modeled after the Patt. '08 Waist belt, but is only 2 1/4-inches wide as opposed to the 3-inch wide Patt. '08 Belt. It most closely resembles the Special Waist belt, but it does not have the internal 1-inch buckled chapes of that version. The short rear buckled chapes, like those of the Special belt, are 2-inches wide, to accept the standard Patt. '08 Braces. So far, I have not found any primary documentation on this type of Belt. Collectors who have examined it, though, are of the opinion that it is likely to be a Mills private purchase item produced for Officer's and Volunteer Training Corps. It is know that M.E. Co. produced special, lightened versions of W.E. Patt. '08 for these organisations, although the detailed specifics of these special versions have not been found to date. I have seen only three examples of this type of Belt. One was so worn that no markings remained. The second one is maker marked "M.E. Co." and dated 1919. It has the faint remains of what MAY be an "OTC" stamp. This example, the third that I've seen, appears unissued, and is maker marked "M.E. Co." and dated 1926.
This detail compares the double Twigg buckle of the 2 1/4-inch wide O.T.C Belt with that of the 3-inch wide Patt. '08 Belt. As can be easily seen, they are identical except in width.
