Infantry Equipment, Pattern 1914 - Packs

 

Pack

The Pattern 1914 Pack was introduced with the Infantry Equipment, Pattern 1914 in List of Changes entry LoC 16977, dated 30 August 1914. The dimensions of the Pack are the same as those of the Patt. '08 Packs, approximately 15-inches tall, 13-inches wide, and 4 1/2-inches deep. According to the LoC, this pack is intended to be identical to the Pattern 1908 Pack except for the chapes and tabs. These are leather instead of web and the buckles are tongued, unlike the Pattern 1908 tongueless Twigg buckles. Additionally, there is another pair of 1-inch chapes at the bottom rear of the Pack.

This unmarked and undated first issue example meets the LoC specification but looks a bit different from the usual British webbing of the period. It is made of smooth, light green "officer's grade" web and the edges are selvedged in brown cloth. The rivets are one piece steel, quite unlike the "standard" British military tinned copper hose rivets seen on other Pattern 1914 pieces. The construction closely resembles that of the Sam Brown equipment, and I suspect that it was made by a firm that usually dealt in officer's private purchase gear. As can be seen, the Service Brown leather fittings are well worn, with one front strap half gone, and one of the lower rear chapes present but no longer attached.

 

 

The second issue Pattern 1914 Pack was introduced by LoC entry 17219, 31 December 1914 / 30 March 1915, which also changed the color of the leather from "Service Brown" to the darker "London Brown". The second issue Pack is differentiated by the 6-inch by 2-inch angled tabs at the top rear. In the first issue Pack, these are made of leather. In the second issue, these are web, with two grommeted holes in each. All of the other chapes and tabs are still made of leather. This example is unmarked and undated.

 

 

 

The third issue Pattern 1914 Pack was introduced by LoC entry 17599, 25 November 1915. In this final version, all of the chapes and tabs are web instead of leather. Also, notice that the buckles on the front flap straps are Patt. '08 style 1-inch tongueless Twigg buckles instead of the tongued type. This example is maker marked "John Smith / London" and dated 1916.

 

 

 

 

There is another type of Pack often associated with W.E., Patt. '14, although I have not yet found an entry for it in the LoC. The collector's term in use for this version is the "Pattern 1908 / Pattern 1914" Convertible pack. It has neither the additional lower chapes nor the tongued buckles of true Pattern 1914 Packs, but is simply a Pattern 1908 Pack with two grommeted holes in each rear 2-inch tab. It could be used with W.E., Patt. '14 in a pinch, but I have not yet seen any contemporary evidence that these were actually produced during the Great War. These may be simply post-war modifications intended to adapt existing Patt. '08 Packs to Patt. '14 usage. This example is maker marked "MW&S Ltd." and dated 1916.