Officer's sword belt, cavalry pattern, with slings : Lieutenant C H E Manning, 1 Volunteer Infantry Battalion, Western Australia

Officer's white patent on buff leather sword belt with sword slings (of unidentified cavalry pattern) with Officer's Western Australian Forces cast and fabricated silver plate on brass union locket buckle. The belt is made from three sections of leather joined by large brass rings (2 1/8 inches outside diameter) with the leather folded around the rings and proper right side of the buckle stitched down with four rows of stitching. The proper left end of the belt is not adjustable and fixes the buckle and a tapered rectangular safe (tongue) to the belt. The proper right end has a brass buckle and holes for adjustment with a running loop. The centre back section is reinforced with a thicker brown leather and has three small brass D-rings from which to suspend the slings of a sabretache. Two slings for securing the sword are suspended from each of the large brass rings. The longer sling measures 25 inches in length; the shorter sling 10 inches. Both are pointed billets with four holes punched at the ends for adjusting the length. A brass sword hook has been fastened around the proper left brass ring. A running loop with a tapered safe lies behind the buckle on the proper left side. The locket (tongue) of the buckle depicts the emblem of Western Australia, a swan, surrounded by the words 'VIGILANS' ( Vigilant ) and five five-pointed stars. The circular surround has the words 'WESTERN AUSTRALIA'. The sides of the buckle have an ancanthus leaf scroll. There are no maker's or acceptance marks stamped on the belt.

Little is known about this particular pattern of sword belt in use in Western Australia. The only reference located about the uniform of the 1st Volunteer Infantry Battalion mentions the wearing of brown leather belts and equipment, not white. Charles Henry Ernest Manning was born on 12 December 1878 and died in 1957. When he enlisted in the AIF on 18 March 1915 he already held the rank of Captain in the volunteer forces and his application notes that he was the Acting Director of Supply for the 5th Military District. In October 1915 he was promoted to major and was attached to the 6th Infantry Brigade Train. By March 1916 he was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel and was the Commanding Officer of the 2nd Australian Divisional Train. He was awarded the DSO in 1917 and made an officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1919 for ensuring an uninterrupted flow of supplies ot units, especially during the period of advance and heavy fighting from 8 August to 6 October 1918, including operations at Villers Bretonneux, Mont St Quentin, Beaurevoir Line and Montbrebain for his 'forethought, care and energy in the supply and rationing of this Division'. In 1928 he was appointed the Director of Migration and Settlement for the Commonwealth of Australia at London House.