Haversack for Small Box Respirator : Lieutenant E C Dockar, 43 Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force

Khaki canvas haversack designed to hold the British Small Box Respirator. The haversack is roughly square, and has a top flap secured by a pair of brass press studs. The bottom section of the bag is reinforced with a second layer of canvas, which is faintly marked on the lower front left and lower rear left panels '2129257 H McIntosh'. A khaki cotton webbing strap approximately 110 cm long, with a brass adjusting clip at the right hand end, allows the haversack to be suspended around the wearer's neck. A brass stud halfway along the webbing strap enables it to be secured, when not in use, to a leather tongue on the right hand side of the bag. A pair of brass rings, one on either side, are located about two thirds of the way down the front. These enable the haversack to be securely located around the body via a length of twine, preventing excess movement when the respirator is being worn. Attached by a length of twine near the left hand ring is a 55 x 110 mm piece of card, folded in half, in a brown paper envelope. The card has several strips of treated gas detecting fabric attached to its outside surface, while the inside has a printed grid with headings: 'HOURS OR PARTS OF AN HOUR WORN FOR SHELL GAS' and 'HOURS WORN FOR CLOUD GAS'. A section at the top of the card printed 'Name' and 'Date of Issue' is marked in indelible pencil '2129257 Pte H McIntosh. Can 3' and 'May 23/18'. Inside the top flap are stamped in black, a Broad Arrow marking with the number '543', and a maker's marking reading 'Waring & Gillow Ltd 1917'. The haversack is split internally into two compartments by a canvas divider, that on the right being slightly larger and designed to hold the respirator facemask and hose. The compartment on the left is intended to hold the respirator canister, and has a metal rack sewn in at its base, producing a cavity for air being inhaled through the bottom of the canister.

Associated with the service of Lieutenant Edmund Clegg Dockar, who served with 43 Infantry Battalion ('The Cameron Highlanders of Canada') of the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the First World War. 43 Battalion, which was raised in 1914, and served entirely on the Western Front, was recruited in the Winnipeg area of Manitoba, and reinforcements were also drawn from this region. Post war, Dockar settled in Australia, and is thought to have died in the 1950s. The haversack was also used by 2129257 Private Harvey McIntosh, CEF, and has markings in his name.