Of the many manufacturing differences that can be found between British and Canadian 1937 pattern webbing, that for the brace attachment is perhaps the most distinctive. The brace attachment was used in place of basic pouches or cartridge carriers and usually consisted of a square brass buckle with a separate, moving central rod, known as a ‘gate buckle’. The Canadians decided to simplify the manufacture of this piece by substituting a single piece of stamped brass that fulfilled the same task but was much quicker and easier to manufacture:

The stamped buckle has a ridge down the centre to provide rigidity and small brass tabs to hold it to the belt:

The other fittings remain the same so we have the usual square ring and buckle sewn above:

These attachments would have been stamped with the manufacturer’s mark on the rear, but this example is no longer visible, however part of a soldier’s number is marked here instead:

If you would like to find out more about the variations of 1937 Pattern webbing that can be found, check out my latest book here.