Canadian 1915 Pattern. Large Pack

The Chase Museum in Australia was a vast help in relaying measurements and photographs. These photos of the ammunition pouches are two of many received which enabled Ashok to create the reproductions.

Large Pack

We also received overviews, details, and measurements for the Large Pack. A reproduction has not been made yet but I have used my own mock-up for demonstration here.

The originals were very straight forward, being much like the British Mills webbing large packs of the '08 style and the 1914 style. Like the 1914 pack they had 1" leather straps for the flap cover and 2" straps to buckle to the yoke. They also had a loop and buckle (3/4") on the bottom to pass around the belt. This photo shows my 1915 Canadian large pack prototype beside a What Price Glory British 1914 pack.

The nature of the strapping system is very similar in the big tabs. The other straps differ. My pack is longer in the body with measurements taken from the view below, the only effective source of original details I have found. I scaled off the two inch straps to determine larger dimensions. The measurements of The Chase Museum original put the pack body at 11 1/2" in height. I have something closer to 14" which better fits the space between yoke and belt.

My front view illustrates the leather straps and buckles used to close the pack.

And here is the picture of the yoke buckle in use below. Notice also how the unbalanced weight of the pack has pulled the yoke down from the collar where it should be. Just as weight disparities from front to back could make the yoke cut into the neck they could also force the yoke down, the only compensation being to tighten the belt until it became locked under the ribs. I've seen photographs of this with all webbing systems and it looks hugely uncomfortable.

Besides the question mark I've put next to the correct pack length there remains the uncertainty of the lower buckling straps. This detail was not on The Chase Museum pack, though original pencil indications of where it was to be sewn were. This photo detail below is my only guide.

The two inner loops lead from the belt to the pack, keeping it from swinging about, but doing nothing to transfer any weight to the belt. ( By contrast the British '08 pattern explicitly states that the pack be strapped so the belt supports it. A system is devised to achieve this.) 

When I extrapolated from this photo to the attachment points on the original, and then added appropriate buckles, I got this:

This is a solution I'm comfortable with because it closely resembles the system of the 1916 pattern which will come up a few postings from now. You can see the point of attachment to the pack just behind the buckles. Placed here it is possible to cinch up the straps on a pack that is only partially full and bind it closer to the body.

When everything is together the whole 1915 system looks like this:

I post this with the cautions about what is known and what is a best guess. I hope to discover the true solution someday.

( The photo on the right shows the haversack and rolled blanket in position instead of the large pack, as in the left. The MacAdam shovel shows its size.)