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Build a FREE Family Tree M F	Uniforms and Equipment During the Great War Canadian uniforms and equipment were generally of British pattern, indeed looking at period photographs it is often difficult to tell Canadians from their British allies. This similarity became even more pronounced as the war progressed and Canadian equipment was discarded in place of better quality British equipment. This page is intended to provide the reader with a brief overview of the uniforms and equipment used by the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the Great War. Uniforms
Canadian Uniform This soldier of the Royal Canadian Regiment is wearing the Canadian 1903 service uniform. This is the Canadian version of the British M1902 uniform adopted after experience in the Boer war showed the value of a simple and inconspicuous uniform. This uniform differs from the British in that it has 9 buttons instead of 7 a standing collar, detachable shoulder straps and pointed cuffs. This uniform was used by the First Canadian Contingent for about a year and by new recruits in training for the duration of the war. The cloth wrappings around the lower legs are known as puttees. The detachable shoulder straps were coloured, dark blue for the infantry, green for rifles, red for artillery and yellow for cavalry.
British Uniform The British M1902 uniform as worn by Canadian troops in France and Belgium from 1916-1918. The soldier in back is wearing a leather jerkin which was very popular with both British and Canadian troops in cold weather.
Highland Uniform This soldier of the 173rd Highlanders is wearing the 1903 service tunic, of the doublet cut as issued to Scottish regiments. The kilt would be worn with a fabric cover to hide the bright colors when on campaign. The Glengarry hat was eventually replaced by the steel shrapnel helmet and the cloth gaiters worn over the boots were replaced by cloth puttees. The leather pouch (sporran) would not be worn on campaign.
Dress Cap Service dress cap in Khaki serge. The metal cap badge varied from regiment to regiment. Smart in appearance when new it quickly softened and lost its shape in service. It was replaced for field use by the steel shrapnel helmet in 1916.
Trench Cap The British M1915 trench cap, known to the British as the Gor blimey it was used by some Canadian troops in 1915 ~ 1916 for cold weather wear. Equipment
Oliver Pattern Canadian WE08 Mills Burrowes WE13 When the Great War broke out in 1914 the Canadian Militia was equipped with a mixture of Oliver valise equipment, Canadian pattern Web Equipment WE08, and Mills Burrowes WE13. The Canadian pattern WE08 was withdrawn from the Militia and issued to some of the new Canadian Expeditionary Battalions at camp Valcartier. The WE13 Equipment was already on issue to Canada's regular army and the newly formed Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry. The Oliver valise equipment was issued to the rest of the new C.E.F. Battalions for whom there was not sufficient quantities of WE08. Upon arriving in England the Oliver valise equipment was withdrawn and replaced with WE08 from British stores. Therefor all the Canadian Infantry Battalions were equipped with WE08 when they arrived in France in February 1915. The Princess Patricia's however had taken there WE13 with them when they went to France with the British 80th Brigade in December 1914. In May of 1915 it was decided to convert the Oliver valise equipment by making a few alterations to the design. This would be known as the 1915 pattern. This pattern was issued to the Second Canadian Division and used in training but was not taken to France. In late 1915 the Oliver valise equipment was again re-designed and became known as the 1916 pattern. The 1916 pattern was used in training , and was worn in France for a brief period of time by the Fourth Canadian Division before being replaced by WE08. Because of wartime shortages of web equipment leather equipment witch was modeled after WE08 was also manufactured and issued to Canadian soldiers it was known as British Leather Infantry Equipment, Pattern 1914.
British WE08 1915 Pattern 1916 Pattern 1914 Pattern
Mark 1 Steel Helmet (trench helmet, shrapnel helmet, brodie) First issued to Canadian troops in March 1916 this helmet was designed to give the soldier protection from air burst shrapnel and shell fragments ( not bullets ) and to be easy to manufacture. With a weight of 2lb one might have expected soldiers to object to the added weight but there was surprisingly little protest as they soon discovered it really did reduce head wounds.
MacAdam shield Shovel Modeled on a Swiss invention this device was intended to be used as both a shield and a shovel. Patented in the name of one of Sir Sam Hughes private secretaries it was a complete failure in every respect. The handle was to short, the shovel to dull to dig with, the hole in the blade was to low to shoot through unless mounted on a low pile of dirt and worst of all it was not bullet proof. The entire shipment of 22,000 shovels witch had cost the government over $29,000 was sold off as scrap in 1917 for $1,400.
Mess Tins This pattern of mess tin was used by British and Canadian forces from 1800-1939. Supplied with a cloth cover that most soldiers discarded at the first opportunity. It was usually worn hung on the outside of the pack.

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These pages were researched and written by Brian Lee Massey & are Copyright © 1997 - 2007. This site may be freely linked to but not duplicated in any fashion without my consent.	Poppy graphic and poppybar graphic designed by Brian L. Massey and may not be used on other sites The Poppy is a ™Trademark of Dominion Command, Royal Canadian Legion, and is used on The Canadian Great War Homepage with their permission
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