Tonight my special thanks go to Andy Dearlove who very kindly let me photograph tonight’s object from his collection. All 25 pattern RAF webbing is scarce, but the rifle cartridge carriers are particularly difficult to find, and like Andy I have been looking for a pair for over ten years and last year he got lucky and found a pair at a militaria show in Belgium. The 1925 pattern cartridge carriers are a development of the 1908 system, with individual pockets each holding three five round chargers of Lee Enfield ammunition. With four pockets a side, the pair of carriers can hold a total of 120 rounds:
Each of these pockets is reduction woven, just like the earlier 08 design, but obviously produced in blue-grey cotton:
Each pocket is secured with a tab and a Newey stud:
Inside a small strip of webbing prevents cartridge carriers from accidentally falling out when the pouches are opened:
Unlike the earlier designs however, the 25 pattern pouches are worn with a back belt rather than a full belt and have the buckle built into the pouches themselves:
The opposite end of the pouches have a C hook for fastening to the back belt and a loop for securing any excess belt left loose after correct sizing:
The design becomes particularly apparent when a pair are shown face down, with the two fastenings for the back belt visible at either side and the buckle in the centre:
The attachment of the top buckle is also unusual as it is attached to a small piece of webbing that has a brass chape attached, this in turn is fastened around a wider brass buckle sewn to the pouches themselves that allows a degree of articulation:
This seems a very complicated method of attachment compared to later designs and reflects the time and money that can be expended in peacetime for a limited production of a design that would only see limited service.
These pouches were used by airmen in the Royal Air Force armed with rifles such a sentries and those marching between establishments carrying rifles. They remained in use and production until about 1941 but as they were not compatible with 37 Pattern equipment in the way the pistol equipment was they seem to have been disposed of very quickly and don’t survive in any great numbers. These pouches are not a matched pair and are dated 1935 and 1941- sadly it proved too difficult to get a photo of the markings.
My thanks go to Andy for letting us look at this rare piece of interwar webbing and I look forward to finding my own set of these pouches in the not too distant future!
The Airgraph reads:
It was send to a Pilot Officer Harrington, RAF Middle East:
I love the personal and friendly nature of this note and a message from an old friend would surely have been a welcome arrival for the pilot officer on active service.
Victor Flack was part of the 111 Maintenance Unit and describes the conditions:
Although conditions were Spartan, special efforts were made to cheer up the men at Christmas:
This certificate was produced in 1945:
And is signed by a Group Captain:
No 1 Radio School was responsible for training RAF wireless operators and had been founded in 1915 as the School for Wireless Operators. The name ‘No1 Radio School’ was first adopted in 1943 when it was one of fifteen such schools in operation. Oliver Johnson was trained at no1 Radio School and remembers:
The RCAF badge is a blue transfer that has been added before glazing:
The egg cup has two ends. The conventional way up has a particularly large holder for an egg, the size of which becomes very obvious when a standard chicken’s egg is placed inside:
This is clearly far too large and was probably designed for either duck or goose eggs. Turning the egg cup upside down however gives us a much more standard size cup that holds an egg in the usual fashion:
This design seems to have been popular in the 1930s and it suggests that the eating of different types of eggs was much more prevalent than it is today where most people typically only eat hen’s eggs. The other theory is that the large space is used to keep a second egg warm whilst eating a first. Once that egg is finished, just swap the two over and you have your second boiled egg still nice and warm.
It is clearly marked on the front with the initials ‘RAF’:
This jug is far too large and heavy when filled to be used for drinking water easily, so I suspect it is part of a wash set. Before running water was common, china or enamelled metal jug and bowl sets were used for early morning ablutions. The hot water was brought up in a jug and then poured into the bowl for washing and shaving with. This remained common practice in many households until after the Second World War and it is equally likely that many barrack rooms were not equipped with hot running water or ablution blocks, so these jugs and bowls had to suffice. Sadly the bowl is long gone form this set, but the jug is a magnificent survivor and in excellent condition. The lip and handle of the jug are made in black enamel, rather than the white of the rest of the pitcher:
This was a deliberate economy seen universally on enamel ware. White enamel is far cheaper than other colours, but far more susceptible to chipping and damage. Therefore the harder wearing blue or black enamel is put on areas known to be most prone to damage, such as the lip and handle, whilst the main body of the jug is finished in the cheaper but more fragile white enamel.
The letters ‘AM’ stand for Air Ministry who ordered this item from the manufacturers, Macfarlane and Robinson Ltd. This company was a major manufacturer specialising in enamel wares, both ‘hollow-ware’ such as this jug and enamel signs and advertising hoardings. They had factories in London, Wolverhampton and Glasgow. George Peck remembers the factory:
This 6” rule is stamped with the crown and AM mark of the Air Ministry and has a date of 1939:
Dating from the 1930s, this rule is predominantly set up to measure fractions of an inch, however the reverse does have a metric scale as well:
The use of a steel rule was viewed as so important that the US actually produced a thirteen minute training film on its use for metal workers! This film can be seen 