field bags x2 Sam Brown officers belt ?

[Mark K]

I recently found these items at a flee market and I am unshur of the origin of the smaller bag and would like to know if some one could help me ID these two bags and possibly what they were used for .And is the officers belt is a Sam Brown belt there are no ID marks on the belt anywere I have searched .

[NCA]

The bag with the shoulder strap looks like a civilian hunting/shooting type bag.The clips are sewn on the wrong side!Must have been made on a friday..
The U.S. marked bag is GP bag(general purpose)used for spare ammo and grenades ect..Nice example.
Sorry cant help with the belt.

[sSterbebild]

officers belt = Russia ore ostblock

[Patgore]

The Sam Browne looks like a Canadian/British army officer's rig. Royal Marine officers had the sword frog attached. Some regiments (e.g. Ox & Bucks) wore a double cross belt, and Rifles regiments wore black leather.

They were often private purchase, and even stores issue belts were not marked.

Many other armies and police forces wore/wear knock-offs of the original Sam Browne, invented by Gen. Sir Samuel J. Browne (1824-1901), but this one is original IMO, and well-used. Possible WWI.

Cheers,

Pat

[Mark K]

Thanks Gentlemen as far as I am concerned this is excellent information all the way around as now I wont feel guilty if I use the small bag with the shoulder strap when I go fly fishing.As to the general purpose bag I did notice that there are two clasps on straps that are sewn to the side of the bag is it safe to make the assumption that there is a missing shoulder strap .And finally the Sam Browne officers belt when I originally bought this belt a couple months back the cotton thread had started to rot out in a few places so I had a leather craftsman resew some of the stitching.He did follow the original stitching pattern and use a good quality cotton thread .My question is does the repair take away from the value. I have one Question left what the hell does IMO,stand for anyway . Many thanks Mark

[Patgore]

In my opinion IMO stands for In My Opinion.

I can't say any more than that without having the belt in my hand, but I'm pretty sure of what I'm telling you.

The Sam Brownes are not that scarce and sell in the $20-30 range, unless you have good WW1 provenance. Yours seems to have "lots of good honest wear" (as the dealers say), which makes me think it might be WW1. Officers wore service dress with Sam Brownes in the trenches in WW1. Anything that can be tracked back to the trenches, even a ratty old service dress jacket, commands a premium.

In WW2 the service dress and Sam Browne was formal uniform, not worn in combat. In combat a WW2 officer would normally wear some appropriate version of the 1937 Pattern web equipment.

As for your repair. Don't worry. Crazy glue and nylon or polyester thread would bother me and any prospective purchaser, but cotton or linen thread to stabilize or conserve the belt sounds okay.

But I wouldn't mess with anything pre-WW1. Get a professional conservator's opinion (museum recommendation) on anything really old.

A good general rule is, if in doubt, leave things "as found". A lot of good stuff is destroyed by over-cleaning. I mentioned on another thread that I had just bought a 1915 Mark 1 helmet at auction for $25. It had been over-cleaned. With the original finish and any unit markings, it could well have sold for several hundred dollars, even $1,000 plus.

Cheers,

Pat

[Mark K]

Thanks for all your help Pat I had done some research on the Sam Browne and as you say they do not command that high of a price but as I did not own one it means a lot to me to have one in my possession.

[joseph barrett]

Here is a few pictures of one of my Sam brown belts for comparison its dated 1916.