Posters much like this one were prominently displayed in every training camp to ensure that America’s new soldiers were aware of the very grave danger that gas warfare posed. As such, the Army strived to make every recruit understand the value of looking after and keeping his gasmask in good order. 01: In the AEF, the importance of the gasmask was eventually considered to be second to that of only the soldier’s weapon. *Link to the other USMF, WW I related gasmask threads put together by Rusty Canteen: PS, feel free to comment, corroborate, correct, contest, and continue this thread by posting pertinent information and by adding additional or better photographs. Any praise for this post should be directed towards them … World War I Nerd Trenchrat, Jagjetta, Rusty Canteen, and Retro, all of whom did not hesitate to supply me with advice, accurate information, high resolution period photos, and crisp clear photographs of many of the actual gasmasks and their carriers shown in this post. Regardless of its worth, this post would have been far less informative, and much less visually pleasing, if it were not for the assistance I received from forum members. We will donate this photo to the AWM and would like to be able to do the same for Charlie….in uniform.Despite the fact that there are already some very informative threads* on the subject of gasmasks as used by the AEF during World War I (WW I) I decided to go ahead and add my two cents on that subject … okay, maybe it’s more like three cents. He received the DCM for gallantry under fire on 25 August 1916 at Pozieres. The enlisted a few weeks apart in different tows and both ended up in the 49th Battalion. We also have one photo of his only other brother, Myles who went to WWI from Queenland. I am just trying to shine a beam on Charlie and his bravery. I have respect and admiration for all that you have done to honour the Diggers and bring Vignacourt to light. I am not challenging your honesty in any way. Given that the Australian War Memorial is prepared to help me identify Charlie in uniform and given that we have only one family photo in existence of him taken during the second Boer War and that identification is also a major aim behind the Vignacourt photos, I would like to try to have a chance to do him some honour. It would be a fitting tribute to him to have it done for the centenary. My brother and I are trying to gather everything we can to rectify the glib report which is in the county archive. He was then in Egypt and North Africa before going to Marseille and onto the front. He became a Lewis gunner and instructor and soldiered on all over the Western Front after he had been at Gallipoli from early May 1915 until the evacuation. Unfortunately, the anonymous writer included his failings but did not record any of his bravery and skills. He had quite a brutally honest account of his military record written into a county archive in Ireland. These days, his behaviour would be called PTSD but in the 50s he would appear in Sydney for a few days and leave again for Queensland. He ended up being a very lonely old man who lived in a series of old soldiers homes in Brisbane until he died in 1965. I am trying to explore any avenue I can find to identify the soldier as I know it is important for many people and especially Charlie’s family. Images like this are rare, especially those taken in studios, and it gives as an insight into what British troops wore during some of the winter periods. His Short Magazine Lee Enfield (SMLE) Rifle has a cover over the main working parts to protect it from the elements. The soldier also wears a British steel helmet, standard issue by this time, and the strap across his fur jacket is from the small haversack which contained his gas mask, likely to be a PH Helmet at this stage. While these were warm, they were also breeding grounds for body lice and while extensively used in the early war period, they were less common as the conflict progressed. It was likely made from sheep or goat fur. It shows a typical animal fur jacket worn by British troops in this case with a separate over jacket and arm pieces. This photograph, dating from 1916, was taken in a French photographer’s studio in a back area on the Somme front. In the British Army soldiers had a leather jerkin and greatcoat but as the Northern French winters got colder – it dropped to more than -20 on the Somme during the winter of 1916/17 – a great deal of improvisation took place. Winter War: Tommy Dressed For Winter 1916ĭuring the Great War the issue of cold weather gear for troops in the front line was limited.
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