Blanco on other British equipment?

[Studio513]

I was wondering if anyone has any resources on blanco protocol and field practices for equipment other than the primary 1908 webbing, particularly on the western front. The item I'm most curious about is the SBR carrier. I've seen period examples that appeared blanco'd, and others that were clearly bare canvas. The same question goes for things like mess tin covers and PH Hood carriers. Thanks!

[Andrew Upton]

5 hours ago, Studio513 said:

I was wondering if anyone has any resources on blanco protocol and field practices for equipment other than the primary 1908 webbing, particularly on the western front. The item I'm most curious about is the SBR carrier. I've seen period examples that appeared blanco'd, and others that were clearly bare canvas. The same question goes for things like mess tin covers and PH Hood carriers. Thanks!

Generally speaking the SBR bag wouldn't have been blanco'd. This was for the simple reason blanco impeded the flow of air through the bag material and thus into the filter. Some of the later blanco products from the interwar years in particular essentially state this (see below). However I have also seen a blanco'd SBR bag - my assumption is this was probably a c.1919 army of occupation thing to make kit look smarter, and quite possibly helped learn the lesson why it shouldn't be done!

 

[Chasemuseum]

As I think most people with an interest in this subject are aware, the fitting instructions for P08 specifically state that the equipment is not to be treated with products like blanko. Copies of the instructions are available on the Karkee Web website

 http://www.karkeeweb.com/patterns/1908/manuals/08_FI_May_1908_R1.pdf

see page 10.

Frankly the pouch for the PH mask is unsuitable to treat with blanco as are the LBR & SBR haversacks.

Would this stop some officers and NCOs instructing their troops to paint everything in blanco? Obviously it happened with webbing. I have handled probably a dozen SBR bags and seen as many again in museum and private collections. None have shown any signs of blanko. 

 

[Pete_C]

Just for clarification, ‘BLANCO’ - a generic term but actually the copyrighted brand name of Joseph Pickering & Sons Ltd - was introduced for ‘cleaning’ web equipment before 1914 and was used throughout the war, alongside other brands like Mills Ltd’s own (powder form) cleaner - all War Office approved. A number of contemporary wartime accounts make reference to the practice and over the years I have encountered many untouched examples of web equipment treated with the specific green or brown (natural web) shades of Blanco in use during the war - some period  wartime adverts below. The topic is very well covered on the excellent ‘Blanco and Bull’ website.

Andrew correctly points out that its use on SBR bags during wartime was forbidden so as to not inhibit airflow through the fabric. This would not apply to the PH helmet satchel and whilst I’m sure it wasn’t widespread, surviving examples treated with green Blanco have been noted - see below. With regard to mess tin covers, I’ve never encountered a Blanco’d example but not to say it didn’t happen on occasion. 

To answer the OP’s question - SBR bags were not treated - some PH satchels were treated - mess tin covers, possibly. There appears to have been no official ‘protocol’ other than the directions for the SBR bag.

Pete

 

 

Edited 6 March by Pete_C

[Andrew Upton]

7 hours ago, Chasemuseum said:

As I think most people with an interest in this subject are aware, the fitting instructions for P08 specifically state that the equipment is not to be treated with products like blanko. Copies of the instructions are available on the Karkee Web website

Whilst initially true this instruction had already changed prior to the start of the war, so that War Office approved cleaner (ie blanco by any other name) could be used: