Full kit: what did typical soldier get issued?

[kay]

Hi all, although I have a great interest in the Victorian campaigns In reality know very little of the day to day life and troubles of men (women children and dogs!)

Just how much kit in the way of clothing did these soldiers get issued? Obviously at times washing and drying could be difficult so was it generally acceptable to not look your best in uniform on a day to day basis ?


Thanks

Kay

[villaphan]

Hi Kay

As you wuold expect most of the unifom items would be provided by the public but if the Colonels were entitled to a thing called off-reckoning they would provided by the Colonels themselves.I`m not really sure what off-reckoning is but i would imagine it would be some sort of subsidy.

Everyday items such as shirts,shaving and cleaning items even knife fork and spoon would have to be provided and maintained by the soldier his self.

This is of course before the cardwell reforms came into place

Hope this is of some help to you

Cheers
Mark

[kay]

Hi Mark, thanks for the reply, answers part of my Q, but not what the average amount of kit a soldier had in those days.

I know how todays troops get on with their issued kit, but not the Victorian Soldier!


Any more comments appreciated!

Thanks

[hickspasha]

Wow Kay, a big question. A lot depends on what part of the 64 year Victorian period you are asking about, also whether you are talking about infantry, cavalry, a Scots regiment, etc. So I'll pick one for simplicities sake but if you want to know about a specific campaign, type of soldier, etc. just let me know. That being said, the basic kit issued to a typical "Tommy Atkins" from about the Zulu War (1879) was:
- A grey shirt or greyback, a flannel colarless undershirt that served well into the 20th Century and a khaki version was issued in WW2, these itchy shirts were often replaced with a more comfortable civilian shirt or another private purchase item.
- A pair of trousers
- A pair of braces
- A pair of boots
- A pair of gaiters (later replaced by puttees)
- A Glengarry (with the appropriate regimental badge)
- A helmet (dark blue pith with regimental plate for home service, white pith w/w/out pugaree for foreign service, later issued with khaki cover but coffee or tea stained on service in South Africa)
- A tunic
- A grey greatcoat (carried rolled & strapped across the sholders or 'en banderole')
- the 1871 Valise Equipment in buff leather: consisting of support braces, belt w/regimental buckle, two leather ammunition pouches, a bayonet and leather bayonet frog, a black leather expense pouch, the Valise (a large oilskin leather knapsack-like item worn on the back in full marching order).
- A water bottle
- A mess tin (covered in oilskin & left with the Valise)
- A cloth haversack
- A Martini-Henry rifle
- .450 caliber ammunition (20 rds in each pouch, plus a further 30 rds in the expense pouch)

Issued rations (a main attraction to enlistment was that the food was regular):
Breakfast:
- a mug of coffee
- a pound of bread
Midday meal:
- 3/4 of a pound of meat (beef or mutton boiled or stewed until tender and grey)
- at home this was sometimes augmented with potatoes
overseas soldiers often added a variety of locally purchased vegetables, but it was not uncommon for some garrisons to live for long periods on barrels of salted meat (a preservative)

In addition to his issued kit our Tommy would have to private purchase or supply the following:
- at least one pair of under garments (do you still call them 'vest and knickers'?)
- at least one pair of socks
- a soldiers holdall (a cloth roll containing basic necessities like a knife, fork and spoon, tooth brush, tin of tooth powder, soap, razor, shaving brush, a small shaving mirror in protective pouch, extra boot laces, a housewife (sewing kit), button sticks to repair buttons, hair comb, shoe polish.
- a tin of blanco (white cream applied to buff leather equipment for parade)
- a tin of cleaning paste (parade required spit and polish)
- soldiers paybook (issued)
- various other personal items much like a soldier would carry today, plus any "liberated" rations, or privately purchased food items to carry in Tommys haversack, these may include hard biscuits (hard tack), tins of boiled vegetables, fruit and meat, tobacco, a pipe or fags (or rolling papers for his tobacco but pipes were more common).

As far as quantities of issued items, from what I can determine it was one to a customer, "his uniform and clothing was regularly - but not frequently - replaced, but if any was lost or damaged between issues, the individual soldier had to pay to have it replaced or repaired." (from "Go To Your God Like A Soldier" by Ian Knight). Service in South Africa was particularly brutal on uniforms and footware; the bright scarlet tunics and pretty white helmets of the spit'n'polish troops upon embarcation in Zululand quickly turned to rags, suplimented by civilian clothing, straw hats, bare feet and dirty unshorn wildmen after the hard campaign in the bush (from discriptions and sketches at the time).

A soldier was required to pay for barrack services such as tailoring, laundering, the barber, and contribute to barracks repairs if damage had occured during his regiment's occupancy. Until Cardwell's reforms of the early 1870's a soldiers pay would be 'stopped' by almost half before he received it to cover the cost of his food. In addition to all that out of his Queen's shilling a day Tommy would have to pay for medical treatment if he was sick.
Now wasn't that a bummer?! I guess it cut down on sick call.

I hope this answers your question more thoroughly, Kay, but if not let me know I'd be happy to provide whatever information you need. There are a number of really fine books that talk about the daily life of the Victorian soldier and I've read and own most of them.

[kay]

Hi Hickspasha

WOW

I never expected such a comphrehensive answer, many thanks for that! Given the early hour here I've read it but not sure if all sunk in so will re read tomorrow. I am familar with itchy shirts, did have them myself during 80s service but never shaved them, amazed how they lasted so long as an issued piece of kit just made sure I got smooth ones as soon as possible! As for underwear, I still call it vest and knickers, though I suppose not many guys here say they wear knickers! I had no idea a soldier paid for medical treatment if sick, though as you say it no doubt cut down on those trying it on.

Thank you again for such a full response and to know the rations as well is a bonus.

Did this list differ much say from the Infantry Soldier 40 yrs before?

Best regards

Kay

[villaphan]

I`d like to add my thanks as well hickspasha you`ve certainly given us something to go on

Mark

[hickspasha]

Hi Hickspasha

WOW

I never expected such a comphrehensive answer, many thanks for that! Given the early hour here I've read it but not sure if all sunk in so will re read tomorrow. I am familar with itchy shirts, did have them myself during 80s service but never shaved them, amazed how they lasted so long as an issued piece of kit just made sure I got smooth ones as soon as possible! As for underwear, I still call it vest and knickers, though I suppose not many guys here say they wear knickers! I had no idea a soldier paid for medical treatment if sick, though as you say it no doubt cut down on those trying it on.

Thank you again for such a full response and to know the rations as well is a bonus.

Did this list differ much say from the Infantry Soldier 40 yrs before?

Best regards

Kay

Yes, Kay, I'm affraid that the rations remained the same throughout the 19th century. I know I'd be hungry. The pay rate remained a constant shilling (about 5p) a day as well. After all the stoppages Tommy had to expect he was lucky if he had anything left. Actually according to regulations a soldier had to be allowed a penny (0.42p) a day. Life in the military was hard to say the least.

Even though the finances for our Tommy was slim, to put it mildly, the finanacial burden for an officer was extraordinary. Not only was attendance at one of the military colleges, like Sandhurst, expensive on the cadets' family but the prospective officer was expected to purchase his commission. The rates went up according to the rank. On top of that other fees could be incurred if the officer wanted posting in a particularly popular regiment, or to facilitate transfers between regiments. Abuses with this type of system were rampant, of course, and illegal fees could also be collected in the form of bribes. An officer was expected to purchase his uniform, in the late Victorian period a cost of 200GBP for an infantry officer, a cavalryman would spend four or five times that, and he had to supply his own mount and equipment. To maintain a certain level of dignity in a very posh regiment an officer would have to spend conspicuous amounts of money. It's estimated that in the late Victorian army an infantry officer could not get by on less than 100GBP a year in private income, a calvaryman would not be comfortable on less than 700GBP. Kay, you may be interested to read that James Thomas Brudenell, the Earl of Cardigan, infamous for leading the Light Cavalry Brigade to destruction at Balaclava in the Crimea, is said to have paid 40,000GBP in 1836 for command of his regiment, the 11th Hussars (then Light Dragoons), and a further 10,000GBP a year on the troopers' uniforms. This after he had lost command of is previous regiment, 15th Hussars, because of his excesses.

Cardwell's reforms eliminated the purchase system. Though Cardwell himself was not opposed to the purchase system, just its abuses. After a hard fought battle in the houses of Parliament and with strong opposition from influential senior military officers and the Duke of Cambridge the purchase system was finally abolished. Parliament decided to compensate all officers (even if they didn't buy their commission) at full value to the tune of a total of 8 million GBP! I wouldn't doubt that you may still be paying for that somewhere in your taxes.

Very happy to share, I've got a fairly extensive library on the Victorian period, mostly military but a few books on civilian life as well. What I can't recall I'll be happy to research. I trust the sources very much, I'm sure you've heard of all the historians I read: Ian Knight, Thomas and Valerie Pakenham, Winston Churchill, Emanoel Lee, Philip Ziegler, Donald Morris (author of "The Washing of the Spears" best book on the Zulu War), Michael Barthorp, Brian Lapping... I know there's more but that's all I can think of at the moment. So anytime you need me to look something up, please don't hesitate to ask.

[Mark]

Hi hickspasha, fantastic posts, well detailed and very informative. Thanks for sharing the info and keep the posts coming. Mark