Australian Army issue gas respirator

Gas respirator consisting of a rubberised fabric face mask, connected by a fabric covered rubber hose to a chemical absorbent canister made of tin plate. The face mask is made of light weight khaki rubber and is held in to position by a harness attached to buckles on the side of the mask which can be adjusted to suit the wearer. A stamp in black ink on the right side of the mouthpiece is faint but some letters and numbers can be made out. The circular eyepieces are made of clear celluloid set in metal rims. The mouthpiece is of brown metal and is stamped with EBRO on the right side and 1939 on the left side. A flexible 260mm rubber hose connects the mask to the canister and is covered with a pale coloured stockinette fabric, which is vulcanised to the rubber for additional strength. The hose is corrugated to give flexibility and to prevent collapse that would impede the flow of air. It is secured to the mask and canister by twisted wires with fabric tape covering the sharp ends. The rectangular tin canister has an overall khaki finish and soldered seams. There are stamped markings on one side of the top of the canister and a broad arrow is painted in black on the other side.

This respirator is associated with the service of John Grieves Dyson in the Victorian ARP during the Second World War. John Dyson lived in Geelong and during the war, with his brothers, owned and ran a foundry that manufactured wool scouring machines for use in knitting mills that produced wool for soldiers uniforms.

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