I wore 51 pattern when I joined the Militia in 1974, up until it was replaced by the 64 pattern nylon equipment. The items I reme,ber being issued were:
-a waistbelt with metal buckle and retainers, with hook and grommets to adjust waist size;
-a pair of shoulder straps, worn in an "X" over the back, but coming straight down the front of the body over each breast pocket. These straps were fitted at their ends into buckles on the waistbelt. Although they widened slightly over the shoulders, there was no padding and no good way of attaching extra gear to them. They could be adjusted to fit the wearer, but we had to "snail" the loose ends into very tight, neat rolls so they didn't flop about;
-a pair of ammunition pouches worn on the chest, between the front end of each shoulder strap and the waistbelt, secured by the shoulder strap. We called these "Basic Pouches" or "Bren Gun Pouches". They were designed to carry magazines (I never tried putting a Bren mag in them---that weapon went out of service a few years before I joined). Quite often we would attach one or more extra pouches directly onto the waistbelt to carry other things like tools, grenades, extra ammo, pyrotechnics, etc. (unlike more modern systems, the 51 pattern system was not designed to let the soldier carry very much on the actual belt system). For parades we squared these out with blocks of wood, bricks or socks;
-a waterbottle, canteen cup and carrier, which hooked into the grommets in the waistbelt (usually over the right hip), but could also be secured to the ends of the shoulderstaps (I never did that);
-a messtin carrier, with a set of aluminum messtins that nested inside each other. This assembly also hooked into the web belt, normally over the left hip. Normally we shoved our eating utensils ("KFS") inside the pouch, and sometimes we carried ration items inside;
-a "small pack" which was very small and not really designed very well. It wasn't waterproof and its poor design of shoulder straps didn't allow you to carry very much with comfort. This didn't stop us from packing it full of stuff: poncho (if not carried rolled and tried on the waistbelt), rations, ammunition, shaving gear and towel, spare socks, underwear, etc. On parades this usually ha to be squared out with something: I saw a few guys use wooden frames; and
-other items including bayonet scabbard and frog (fitted over the waistbelt), pistol holster (hooked into the grommets), a compass case, map case, etc were available but I didn't see them used too often (maybe the RegF units used them more commonly). As a Militia soldier I didn't;t get a respirator so I never saw what the carrying case looked like.
The entire system was made of a "web" material that resembled canvas. It was dyed olive drab, with all metal fittings anodized black. Everything had to be treated with a green polish/preservative known as CAPO. This shit came in small metal cans, and we usually put it on with toothbrushes and rags. Once it dried, it had a dull sheen: you could also buff it for parades. CAPO-ing your webgear was a pain: you had to strip it apart, clean it, apply CAPO, let it dry, then reassemble it all.
Overall I thought it was a terrible system: hard to look after, uncomfortable, poorly designed and incapable of carrying the increasing amount of gear being issued to soldiers. Although the 64 pattern that replaced it had its weaknesses, IMHO it was a hell of a lot better system.
Cheers
. I been thinking about doing something along these lines for a while. I would like to join a Unit already established. If anyone knows anything please let me know Cheers Old Naval Guard
