Canadian Army Military Police
1914 - 1920

Officer's Equipment

The Sam Browne Belt

The Sam Browne belt equipment was the definitive mark of an officer. It was generally made of brown or reddish brown leather, although black leather Sam Brownes were worn by some Rifle Regiments. Early versions had two braces, in order to support the sword on the left side and the revolver on the right. Three major types of belts were availible with either 2, 3 or 4 brace attachment brass rings. All had 2 lower rings for the attachment of the sword frog.

By the end of the war, the importance of the Sam Browne as the primary equipment carrier of an officer was waning. On the introduction of Battledress and the 1937 Pattern Web Equipment, the Sam Browne was retained soley as a symbol of officer status. It remained as a part of officer's Service Dress in the Canadian army until the adoption of the CF Green uniform in the late 1960s.


Detail of the Sam Browne belt showing the upper brace attachments and the lower attachments for the sword. The hook in the center of the belt helps support the sword.


Details of the rear brace attachment points.


Detail showing a small revolver holster and the sliding loop brace attachment. Adjustable sliding loops were used to support double braces on belts with only 2 or 3 upper brace attachments.


A loop and attachment for a whistle was supplied on some braces.


Detail shot of the method of carrying the whistle.


If you accessed this page from an outside link or search engine and do not see a navigation bar on the left side of the page, click HERE to go to the Canadian Military Police Virtual Museum main page.