Nice simple pickup last weekend at the local antique fair. This is a souvenir belt put together from a Prussian infantry belt and the tunic buttons from a wide range of Allied and German units. This example has a predominance of Canadian buttons so I am guessing that it was Canadian in origin. The rest are French, Australian, New Zealand, German and one single U.S. General Service button. You see these in all sorts of configurations, some on Allied belts, some with cap badges and other oddments. The legend is that these were put together from souvenirs taken from dead bodies but that sounds overly complex to me and likely nonsense. More likely most of the buttons were swapped at rear area camps between bored soldiers making up a souvenir. The U.S. button suggests a late war job, 1917-19. The Empire buttons make sense as often these units found themselves together in the line. The Canadian Regiments are from different divisions so that’s why I think this is a rear area put together. Still, a great belt, in fine condition and worth it just for the buttons and belt IMHO.
Archive for the Belts & Belt Buckles Category
WW1 Canadian Hate Belt
Posted in Belts & Belt Buckles with tags Australia, Canada, France, Germany (Imperial), Hate Belts, New Zealand, Souvenirs, United Kingdom, United States, Western Front, WW1 on August 5, 2017 by The DudeKriegsmarine Officer’s Belt & Buckle
Posted in Belts & Belt Buckles with tags Buckles, Germany (Third Reich), Kriegsmarine, WW2 on December 21, 2016 by The DudeEver since that KM Dagger walked into my life a few months ago I have been looking for a good Officer belt and buckle to hang it off. The dagger came with the narrow undress belt but I wanted the broader undress belt. Here it is, lovely.
Ottoman Turkish Enlisted Man’s Buckle
Posted in Belts & Belt Buckles with tags Gallipoli, Ottoman Empire, Turkey, WW1 on September 3, 2016 by The DudeBeing a Kiwi I have an attachment to the Gallipoli campaign of 1915. When I visited Turkey in 2012 I made sure that I got to Anzac Cove and Chunik Bair. I scooped a little bit of soil from there into a container and dragged that home. Elsewhere here I have an Ottoman award and have been looking for an Ottoman era belt buckle for a while. This one has the toghra (personal cypher) of Mehmet V, the penultimate Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, under the national emblem. Notice how similar this buckle is in design to the Jerry ones. The Germans had both feet in the Turkish Army prior to the Great War, providing technical advice and equipment designs.

Turkish soldiers at Sedd el Barr in 1915, prior to the invasion