WITH HIS HOME ON HIS BACK

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 249, 9 July 1918, Page 6

WITH HIS HOME ON HIS BACK

g IN FULL MARCHING ORDER A BRITISH SOLDIER'S KIT (By Lieut. G. D. Stclling.) [Published by tho War Office and circulated by this Koyiil Colonial lnstituto.l A civilian, when he becomes a soldier, hands himself over to tho military authorities technically naked. Everything bo wears and everything he carries on his person from tho moment ho into uniform is tho property of ,tho State, which from that moment dresses, feeds, and equips him for tho business of war. The completely equipped soldier is entirely self-sufficient; he is as independent of tho resources of civilisation as the wild boast in the forest; he is clothed, armed and provisioned against all circumstances. Hut since civilised man has shed tho protective equipment with which Nature provided his remote ancestors, it demands a very, resourceful and efficient organisation to arm tho "two-legged animal without' wings" who goes into battle to-day. It is estimated that tho fully laden infantrv soldier on the march carries 6111). weight on his person. This weight includes his clothing and articles of toilet, his arms, ammunition, tools/ nc- ' coutrements, rations and water. The official list of ordinary winter clothing comprises about 40 separate articles, either worn or carried on his .pack. Ho wears:— Body band Jacket. Boots, laces,' and Trousers . inner soles. Braces. Cap (& waterproof Cardigan waistcoat. cover) Identity discs (2). Flannel shirt. Paybook. Woollen vest Clask knife with Socks. lanyard. Puttees. Field dressing. His arms compriso a rifle, Bayonet and scabbard, his ammunition, anything from 150 rounds, bis tools an entrenching tool and handlo (and on occasions a pick or shovel as well). His accoutrements may be summed up in the phrase "web equipment," a marvellously intricate entanglement of webbing, which enables him to carry all his luggage with its weight scientifically distributed, yet so ingeniously contrived that by' the release of a single fastening at the waist he can divest himself of the whole in a couple of seconds. This equipment, includes innumerable straps, buckles, a pack, haversack, cartridge pouches, tool-carrier, and waterbottle. In his pack he carries:— Cap comforter. Hold-all containing: i Spare shirt. Toothbrush Spare drawers. Eazor Towel. , Shaving brush Soap. ' Spare bootlaces '{ Gloves. Comb. Housewife. Socks (2 sparo pairs) Great coat. Mess tin. In his haversack ho carries his knife, • fork, and spoon, tho overflow from his 1 > pack, and probably a few score of extra i cartridges and some bombs, as well as • his rations, which normally include 31b. . of bread, with cheese or meat, and the ■ so-called "iron ration," to wit, a tin of i bully beef, tea, sugar, salt, biscuit, and soup cubes. His rations and water alone i account for about Gib. of the total weight. To comnleto the Chri6tnias-treo appear- ; ance of the mud-stained fighting man, ■ add one or two bags containing gas and i smoke helmets. He carries about 4i I stone of dead weight, he bulges fore and i aft and sideways in u Falstaffian fashion, i measuring with all his impedimenta ) some two feet square. And much of his lifo consists in trudging through miles t corkscrewing trench, inches deep in ■ clutching mud. and only a few inches , more than two feet broad. Tho snail . that ; carries its home on its back bears I but a trivial burden compared with the )' British Tommy, who lives, moves, and - fights with his whole home, completely furnished,! his arms and his victuals, - upon his person. Yet the snail is not , regarded as a proverbially cheerful anis mal, while tho Tommy is.