1908 Pattern Webbing

The 1908 Pattern Web Infantry Equipment was an innovative type of webbing equipment issued to the British Army during World War I.

During the Second Boer War of 1899–1902, the standard British Army set of personal equipment, comprising a belt, haversack and ammunition pouches, was the leather Slade-Wallace Equipment, which had been introduced in 1888. It proved unsuitable for holding modern ammunition, which was carried in clip chargers instead of individual rounds, and its buffalo hide leather tended to deteriorate during long periods in the field. A review of the British shortcomings of the war was conducted by the 1903 Royal Commission on the War in South Africa, which heard evidence that the Slade-Wallace equipment was "an absurdity" and "cumbersome, heavy and badly balanced". As a stop-gap measure, the leather 1903 Bandolier Equipment, based on that used by the Boer Commandos, was issued, but it quickly proved to be unsuitable for infantry use.

In 1906, Major Burrows of the Royal Irish Fusiliers working with the Mills Equipment Company, presented a design for a new set of equipment. The American parent company of Mills had previously produced woven cotton webbing equipment for the US Army, but no European army had yet adopted it. The new Webb-Burrows equipment, initially known as "the Aldershot design", was presented to a committee chaired by the Surgeon-General, which in turn recommended trials at home and abroad. Following the success of these trials, the webbing equipment was accepted by the Army Council in December 1907.

The 1908 equipment, when fully assembled, formed a single piece and could be put on or taken off like a jacket. Ammunition was stored in two sets of pouches attached to the belt at the front, and the straps from these passed over the shoulders, crossing diagonally at the back. The back pack, or "valise", was attached to these diagonal straps, thus spreading its weight. The "D" shaped buckles and the strap ends were made of brass. The whole set consisted of:

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