Sam Browne

The Sam Browne belt is a wide belt, usually leather, supported by a narrower strap passing diagonally over the right shoulder (although Royal Canadian Mounted Police non-commissioned members wear theirs over the left shoulder). It is most often a part of a military or police uniform. General Sir Sam Browne was a 19th-century British Indian Army officer who had lost his left arm to a sword cut during the Sepoy Rebellion; this made it difficult for him to draw his sword, because the left hand was typically used to steady the scabbard while the right drew out the sword. Browne came up with the idea of wearing a second belt which went over his right shoulder to hold the scabbard steady. This would hook into a waist belt with D-rings for attaching accessories. It also securely carried a pistol in a flap-holster on his right hip and included a binocular case with a neck-strap. Other officers began wearing a similar rig and eventually it became part of the standard uniform. During the Boer War, it was copied by other troops and eventually became standard issue. United Kingdom and the Commonwealth In the 20th century it was a mainstay in the British Army officers' corps, being adopted service-wide in 1900 during the Second Boer War after limited use in India, and later becoming popular with military forces throughout the Commonwealth. After World War II the Sam Browne belt saw a decline in use in the Commonwealth. It was dropped from the standard officer's uniform in 1943 and replaced by the cloth P37 and P44 web gear. However, officers and warrant officers class 1 of the British Army and Royal Marines still wear it in service (No.2) dress and in non-ceremonial versions of No.1 dress. It was phased out by the Canadian military beginning with the unification of the armed services in 1968. In Australia, all officers and warrant officers class 1 are entitled to wear the belt in ceremonial dress. Within the corps of the Australian Army there is some variation, with members of the Royal Australian Armoured Corps, Royal Australian Army Nursing Corps and Australian Army Aviation Corps wearing black Sam Browne belts.