Australian Army 1915 Pattern Leather Equipment : Pozieres battlefield

Australian 1915 Pattern brown leather webbing consisting of five 'top opening' left ammunition pouch with waist belt. The five ammunition pouches have three flaps - two on each side and one at the front to close them. These flaps are secured with a leather strap with one hole and slit which fit over a brass stud at the front of each pouch.

The pouches show evidence of long term exposure to the elements - the leather is faded, some of the flaps are damaged. The belt has holes where the angled tabs and buckles have been torn off and the Twigg buckle to secure the waist is damaged and corroded. 'AUSTRALIA' and [illegible CG?]HF' is stamped at one end of the belt.

Remains of Australian leather webbing recovered from near the Windmill at Pozieres, the scene of heavy fighting for Australian units during the fighting there in July / August 1916.

During the early stages of the war, the challenge of equipping a large number of men, but without the factories within Australia to make cotton Pattern 1908 webbing, lead to the development of the 'Infantry Equipment, Australian Pattern 1915' webbing. Made of leather, it copied the British manuifactured 1908 Pattern webbing used by the Australian Forces at the time.

This ammunition pouch is an example of a later pattern, consisting of a 'top opening' ammunition pouch secured by a leather strap over the flaps, rather than pouches with a larger flap enclosure.

It was issued for training in Australia and carried overseas, but was usually exchanged for Pattern 1908 webbing before going into action. In this instance though, the soldier retained his leather equipment before going into action at the Windmill at Pozieres in 1916.