Tonight we are looking at the fourth and final piece of 1940 pattern webbing in my collection; the water bottle carrier. Of all the elements of this set, this is the cheapest and easiest to find, with even the most expensive dealer’s site only charging £30 or so for one. Of all the elements of the 1940 pattern webbing, this is the most unusual and as far as I am aware this design was not used on any other British Empire webbing set by Mills Company; although a similar design was used on a set of webbing patented in 1911:
For a description of the 1940 pattern water bottle we turn to the official fitting instructions:
Waterbottle Carrier- This is made in the form of a bag:
with a reinforcing band at the top to enable easy insertion of the bottle:
A “V” shaped strap with snap fastener secures the bottle:
Two buckles are fitted to the back for attachment to the horizontal strap of the left cartridge carrier and to one of the straps with keyway fitting:
A stud is riveted in the band of web at the bottom to engage the keyway fitting on the left hand of the back adjustment strap:
This example, like every other one I have seen, is in unissued condition and marked ‘MECo’ and dated 1940:
This photograph from the original manual shows the water bottle carrier is use, worn at the small of the back:
As has been mentioned before I am just missing the back belt and haversack for this set, anyone who has one of these items and is willing to sell it please get in contact as I am very keen to finish off my set.
