W.E. Patt. '08 Pistol Equipment
The Pistol Order is a subset of W.E., Patt. '08, designed for soldiers who do not carry a rifle. The components of the Pistol Order are the Braces; the Attachments, brace; the Belt, waist, special; Case, pistol, Webley, with brass hooks; and the Pouch, ammunition, Webley, with brass hooks. Except for the Braces, which are the normal Patt. '08 ones, all of these items were added to W.E., Patt. '08 by List of Changes entry LoC No. 16513, dated 5th March 1913, amended 11th July 1913. For completeness, all of these are shown on this page. The Braces, Brace attachments, and Special waist belt are also shown on the pages for that particular type of equipment.
Braces were introduced as part of Web Equipment, Pattern 1908 in List of Changes entry LoC No. 14288, dated 31st January 1908. The second issue Braces were introduced by List of Changes entry LoC No. 15048, dated 22nd November 1909. Second issue Braces are straps of plain, heavy webbing, 50-inches long and 2-inches wide, tipped with sturdy eyeletted brass tips. When used in the W.E. Patt. '08 Pistol Order, the Braces are attached to the buckles on the rear of the Special waist belt, cross over the back, and connect to the Brace attachments at the front. This pair is maker marked "M.E. Co." and dated 1919.
Brace attachments replace the Cartridge carriers in the Patt. '08 Pistol Order. Originally authorised for Pipers and Range-takers, their use was later extended to machine gun crews, tank crews, OR's in the RFC, and others. The Australian at right has his Ammunition pouch pushed well back, giving a good view of the Brace attachments being worn. This pair is maker marked "M.W. & S. Ltd." and dated 1918.
The Belt, waist, special, is used in the Patt. '08 Pistol Order. The Special waist 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, which replaced the Mark I in List of Changes entry LoC No. 17272, dated 26th May 1915. It is maker marked "M.E. Co." and dated 1919.
Case, pistol, Webley, with brass hooks
The Case, pistol, Webley, with brass hooks is used in the Patt. '08 Pistol Order. It is a sturdy leather envelope made for the Webley Mk. IV Pistol, with an open top and a single securing strap. It attaches to the Belt with two double ended brass hooks. The leather lace on the Pistol case shown left is non-standard. It may have been added to make it useable with a B.E. Patt. ’03 Belt. The Belt would rest just on top parts of the brass hooks. The Pistol case could be kept secure and in position by tying the lace round the Belt. Note also the rivets, top and bottom, which are bifurcated, where the Army used normally hose rivets. This is a later, user-mod, as it was not riveted at these points, as originally made. This Pistol case is maker marked "Wolfsky | London" and is dated 1917. The picture at right shows a soldier wearing the W.E. Patt. '08 Pistol Order, with the Pistol Case clearly visible.
Pouch, ammunition, Webley, with brass hooks
The Pouch, ammunition, Webley, with brass hooks is used in the Patt. '08 Pistol Order. It is a simple leather pouch designed to hold ammunition for the Webley Mk. IV Pistol. It attaches to the Belt with two double ended brass hooks. This example is maker marked "H.G.R." and is dated 1917.
The photo at left, taken from the manual of Elementary Drill (All Arms), 1935, shows the approved method of wearing the Patt. '08 Pistol Order. The Ammunition pouch is on the right side, in front of the Brace attachment. The Pistol case is worn in front of the Brace attachment on the left, set up for a cross draw. Looking at the Pistol case in particular, this seems the natural and obvious way to wear this equipment. A fair number of period photographs, though, indicate that my views on this were by no means the universal ones during the Great War. The photo at right shows a group of RFC Other Ranks in 1915, wearing Pistol Order over their maternity tunics. Every man in the picture has the Pistol case on the right. If the Special waist belt was worn low on the hips, Old West style, this might be reasonable. With the Belt high on the waist, though, as these men have it, it must be very awkward to draw the Pistol from the Case. I would dismiss this as an anomaly, exept that I haver seen a number of period photographs that show Pistol Order being worn in this fashion. I realise that France in 1915 wasn't the Wild West, and that the ability to perform a gunslinger's quick draw was not the purpose of this equipment, but to me it still seems very odd.
