An Officer's Kit = WW I

[Father Bill]

I thought some of the folks here might be interested in the "kit list" of a Canadian Lieutenant from WWI. His grand-daughter is a personal friend and gave me permission to scan and upload these here.

Lt. Davis served in military intelligence in Beirut and other parts of the middle east through the Royal Scots.

I hope that you can read them; they were old and tricky to scan but I've increased contrast and light to help.

[RichardtheLarge]

I’m perplexed that a housewife along with all of the other train transport goods is supposed to come in under 35 pounds! I guess people were much shorter then.

[Michael Flemming]

The allowed pair of putties has me stumped.

[Baeau]

The allowed pair of putties has me stumped.

Ask, & I might find. They are the lower leg wraps. About 4" wide, by 8ft. Do a web search, they are on eBay, & Amazomoney. Also, see: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puttee

[RichardtheLarge]

Ask, & I might find. They are the lower leg wraps. About 4" wide, by 8ft. Do a web search, they are on eBay, & Amazomoney. Also, see: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puttee

It’s interesting to see that they’re mostly abandoned these days. I suppose soldiers are told to buy their own compression socks if they want them.

Long story short, standing around and/or marching all day results in peripheral edema in general and pedal edema in particular. The failure of body fluid to return to the heart can significantly increase the work of the heart (to maintain blood pressure, the heart has to contract with greater force if lesser fluid volume is returning from the body). Leg wraps and/or compression socks help with venous return by buoying up the venous valves. With medial force applied to the leg, the valves are less likely to fail and edema is less likely to occur.

Compression stockings are likewise the first line treatment for venous reflux disease.

[figheadair]

It’s interesting to see that they’re mostly abandoned these days. I suppose soldiers are told to buy their own compression socks if they want them.

They were issued not for medical reasons but for securing the opening at the top of short boots. When I joined the Army in 1975 we were still issued puttees and continued to wear them until high-leg boots were introduced.

I’m perplexed that a housewife along with all of the other train transport goods is supposed to come in under 35 pounds! I guess people were much shorter then.

A Housewife was a sewing kit. Here's my grandfather's WWII issue Housewife which I used all through my military service.