‘I have spent £2.3s on a revolver getting it from the Government at a cheap price’ Letter from Lance Corporal Stanley Booker, the Worcestershire Regiment, February 1916

The British Army was well-equipped and trained. Private soldiers carried their regulation equipment in a system of belts and bags known as webbing. Ammunition, entrenching tool, bayonet, water bottle, mess tin, cutlery, sewing kit, wash kit, daily rations, blanket and greatcoat all fitted into the webbing, which could weigh 32 kgs, plus rifle. Officers had servants and could take more to the frontline. They might take dress uniform and several changes of clothes, as the regiments were expected to keep up standards even in the battlefield. Officers had an allowance to buy uniform, and could buy their own weapons and equipment, such as a revolver or binoculars. The Army Service Corps provided food, ammunition and equipment. They worked across a huge supply chain, from Britain to every battlefield, using ships, trains, horse-drawn carts and motor lorries.