WW1 British/Canadian pistol lanyard info
- Thread starter bogusiii
- Start date
First off, I should mention that, although Webleys were the standard British service revolvers for about 40 years, Canada has never adopted any model of Webley revolver for official issue. For primary-issue military handguns, up to and including WWII, Canada acquired the following:
- 1855: .36 Colt Model 1851 "Navy" cap and ball revolvers
- 1885: .45 Colt Model 1878 Double Action revolvers
- 1900: .45 Colt "New Service" revolvers
- 1914: .45ACP "Government Model" (i.e. M'1911) pistols
- 1915-17: .455 Smith & Wesson "Hand Ejector" revolvers
- 1939-44: .38 Smith & Wesson "Military & Police" revolvers
- 1944-45: 9mm Inglis-made Browning High Power pistols
Admittedly, WWI officers were still required to provide all of their own kit, including weapons, at personal expense .... with considerable leeway in what they acquired .... and quite a few did opt for Webleys.
However, to answer your question, British Commonwealth lanyards during WWI were indeed essentially the same as used during WWII. The "correct" pattern was "double stranded", such as worn by this Royal Military Police Corporal:
One good source in Canada for such lanyards is P&S Guns and Militaria (Jean Plamondon) - http://psmilitaria.50megs.com/miscel.html
Scroll down to items 926 and 927 (Gray/Green and Khaki) ..... Can$11.00 each ......
This pattern of lanyard was originally adopted by the British War Department in 1878 - here is the specific listing in the "List of Changes in War Matériel and of Patterns of Military Stores" (commonly abbreviated "LoC") -
Note that this pattern remained unchanged during WWI, except for a change of colour to "khaki" in 1905 (.... by the way, the "yellow" specified in the earlier entry was not likely a bright shade .... more like a darkish straw colour, I'd say ....) -
As you can probably tell from the image of RMP Corporal, the moveable "turk's head" runner forms the adjustable loop which goes around the neck. The fixed knot covers the joined ends of the cord and forms a non-adjustable loop only a few inches long, which is the end that gets attached to the lanyard ring of the pistol. It may be puzzling at first how one attaches such a closed loop to the lanyard ring .... it is done by pushing the closed loop through the ring and then passing the entire length of the lanyard through it and drawing it tight on the ring, so that it looks like this:
- 1855: .36 Colt Model 1851 "Navy" cap and ball revolvers
- 1885: .45 Colt Model 1878 Double Action revolvers
- 1900: .45 Colt "New Service" revolvers
- 1914: .45ACP "Government Model" (i.e. M'1911) pistols
- 1915-17: .455 Smith & Wesson "Hand Ejector" revolvers
- 1939-44: .38 Smith & Wesson "Military & Police" revolvers
- 1944-45: 9mm Inglis-made Browning High Power pistols
Admittedly, WWI officers were still required to provide all of their own kit, including weapons, at personal expense .... with considerable leeway in what they acquired .... and quite a few did opt for Webleys.
However, to answer your question, British Commonwealth lanyards during WWI were indeed essentially the same as used during WWII. The "correct" pattern was "double stranded", such as worn by this Royal Military Police Corporal:
One good source in Canada for such lanyards is P&S Guns and Militaria (Jean Plamondon) - http://psmilitaria.50megs.com/miscel.html
Scroll down to items 926 and 927 (Gray/Green and Khaki) ..... Can$11.00 each ......
This pattern of lanyard was originally adopted by the British War Department in 1878 - here is the specific listing in the "List of Changes in War Matériel and of Patterns of Military Stores" (commonly abbreviated "LoC") -
Note that this pattern remained unchanged during WWI, except for a change of colour to "khaki" in 1905 (.... by the way, the "yellow" specified in the earlier entry was not likely a bright shade .... more like a darkish straw colour, I'd say ....) -
As you can probably tell from the image of RMP Corporal, the moveable "turk's head" runner forms the adjustable loop which goes around the neck. The fixed knot covers the joined ends of the cord and forms a non-adjustable loop only a few inches long, which is the end that gets attached to the lanyard ring of the pistol. It may be puzzling at first how one attaches such a closed loop to the lanyard ring .... it is done by pushing the closed loop through the ring and then passing the entire length of the lanyard through it and drawing it tight on the ring, so that it looks like this:
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Thanks GrantR!!!
This makes thing much easier that if I had to go looking for some obscure leather lanyard. And you even provie a source...terrific!!
Oh, and Missing Something, I like your avitar symbol!! You got there first, I may have to change mine to a Bren.
This makes thing much easier that if I had to go looking for some obscure leather lanyard. And you even provie a source...terrific!!
Oh, and Missing Something, I like your avitar symbol!! You got there first, I may have to change mine to a Bren.
