UNIFORM & KIT ISSUED TO THE NEW ZEALAND ARMY DURING WW2

Pattern 37 Belt

The Pattern 37 Web Belt was used by all British Commonwealth troops and experienced quite an extensive service life (albeit with some slight modifications). The belt consisted of a 2 & 1/4" (2 and one quarter inch) wide piece of webbing which had a front and a reverse side. The reverse side had a continuous series of small "pockets" woven into the belt. The very tip of each end of the belt, was fitted with a brass encasement from which two brass prongs protruded. The belt was adjustable; so that once the desired width of the waist was ascertained, the excess length folded back onto itself and passed through a brass keeper. The 'prongs' at the tip of the belt, slotted into a small 'pocket' on the inner edge of the belt. Thus, the desired length was secured and this system prevented the belt from inadvertantly working open and becoming loose on the wearer. (PLEASE REFER TO THE PHOTOGRAPH) As can be seen in this picture, the belt has been adjusted to size, however the brass prongs have yet to be inserted into the securing pockets. The length of the belt was secured by way of a brass "male & female" buckle arrangement. The original design of the Pattern 37 belt that went into production for war service, had two 1" brass buckles sewn onto the rear of the belt. These buckles sat where the 'small' of the back would be on the wearer. The Pattern 37 Shoulder Brace straps passed through these buckles, which supported the weight of the load carrying equipment once the set was put together for wear. From a collector's perspective, it is unfortunate that the Army adapted this belt for "Parade" use, by removing the two rear 1 inch buckles. The subsequent result being that many surviving belts are missing the two rear buckles. This item is held in the Kokoda Historical Collection.