Indian-made Pattern 1937 Webbing Set Overview

[karkee]

KEF and AEF were probably equipment factories that appeared during the war and were shut down shortly afterwards...Never seen LEF before though.

This publication may hold the clues...

https://books.google.com/books/about...d=884lAAAAMAAJ

[Michelwijnand]

Thanks!
I'll try to get those straps, sadly I don't have a creditcard, as it's a dying art here in the Netherlands, but I'll make do somehow.
And I'll look into the AEF/KEF/LEF thing some more.

And here's some more shots of the carrier. I also made a comparison photo of the original made straps and metalware, and the added British strap.
There are no ther markings inside that I've found.

I bought this one at the fair in Ciney, like the strange large pack, though from another seller that came from Holland. Sadly there weren't any more of
them, or I would've bought at least 1 extra to get to anyone wanting to get that hard to find part for their webbing.
Seeing everybody's Indian webbings without carriers I started thinking they didn't exist.

The waterbottle should arrive tomorrow or saturday, it's the type with the flat depressed top, strange neck with angled bottom part, and thick top plate
on the cork. These are typically seen without any cover when they're for sale, but this one actually still has it.

[Warspite]

I love the carrier, and thanks for confirming they were produced. I've seen photos of Indian troops wearing them, but never seen an actual example before- leaving open the possibility they had imported them. This confirms indigenous production and gives me another component to track down for my set!
As to the AEF/KEF question, I wonder if the 'EF' part stands for 'equipment factory' and the 'A' and 'K' to a city or state within India?

[NCA]

The waterbottle you describe...doesn't look like this?




General consensus was that its not Indian made. Still a mystery! There must have been a cratefull found as they seem to turn up everywhere.

[Warspite]

This is a confirmed example of an Indian waterbottle from my collection. It is stamped as having been made by the Metal Box Company, Calcutta.

[Michelwijnand]

Mine arrived today, together with an unrelated Canadian gasmask set.
I'll keep it in my Indian webbing unless it's found out for sure to be something else, meanwhile I'm also still looking for the other type with no paint and the different fabric cover anyway.
I missed out on one here in the Netherlands, or rather the seller just stopped responding altogether.

[karkee]

Michel - Thanks for posting pictures of the carrier! This is the third Indian example I have seen. One was in Holland by an Indian manufacturer that I didn't recognize and the other was in England, marked Ca1941 and also featuring the helve retaining strap modification. The Indian ET carriers I have seen have all been lined with khaki drill material in a twill pattern. Is this true with your example as well?

Warspite - It has long been my assumption that EF stands for "Equipment Factory", but it is difficult to find any references to these firms. That "History of the Supply Department" book that I referenced earlier has this to say...





It could be that AEF and KEF were branch factories of the "Government Harness & Saddlery Factory, Cawnpore"... Perhaps it was Amritsar Equipment Factory and Kossipore Equipment Factory? If they factories were only in operation during the war and closed by 1946, it would make sense that there is little reference to them.

Regarding the "ML C.T 1943" waterbottles, NCA is right that they are still a mystery. As you can see, they do share some similarities to the example by the Metal Box Company. Some believe that the C.T refers to Cape Town, which would give them a South African Origin. India's enamel industry was still quite small when the war broke out and they reserved their tinplate industry for the manufacture of Mess Tins and Waterbottles...



This excerpt about the Metal Box Company is quite interesting...



It's hard to think of Metal Box producing millions of units of webbing equipment, but perhaps this refers to the use of tinplate stiffeners in Indian-made binocular cases, compass pockets and pistol cases!

[karkee]

Some other excerpts of interest from this publication include a section discussing Indian buttons, both coconut shell and galvanized iron...



There is also information about Indian clothing factories. The Shahjehanpur Factory was apparently the only factory operating before the war began and I have seen many Indian-made items are stamped "SHAH" on their circular stamp. During the war, Clothing Factories were set up in Agra, Dehli, Calcutta, Madras, Secunderabad, Lahore, Sialkot and Bombay, where raw cloth was cut to proper patterns. These cut pieces were then shipped to local contractors for sewing (around 100 firms thorughout British India) and then shipped back to the factories for inspection, packing and despatch.



Circular Indian Clothing Stamps feature two letter codes above and below the date of production. Perhaps these codes refer to the factory where the pieces were cut and the code of the contracted firm where the pieces were sewn? It would be interesting to start a compilation of Indian Clothing Stamps and see if any correlation can be found with Agra, Dehli, Calcutta, Madras, Secunderabad, Lahore, Sialkot and Bombay...

[NCA]

Fascinating information Karkee...as ever, your posts are a delight!

[Michelwijnand]

My webbing is packed in a box now because we're moving, but I think I remember it having KD type material inside, yes.

Meanwhile some L-straps have arrived, so the webbing is done. I might try to find some utility pouches for it sometime later though.