58 pattern webbing

1958- pattern webbing was a modular based personal equipment system issued to the Armed Forces of the United Kingdom from the 1950s up until the mid 80s. It replaced the 1937 Pattern Web Equipment that had served the UK's Armed Forces through the Second World War and the first decade of the cold war. It was in turn gradually replaced in the 1990s by the current issue '95 Pattern Personal Load Carrying Equipment (PLCE).

Components
A general issue of 1958 Pattern webbing consisted of a belt, yoke, ammunition pouches (left, with provision for an SLR bayonet, and right, with a pouch to the rear for the ENERGA rifle grenade adapter), a water bottle pouch (also able to be fitted with a mug while containing the waterbottle), a pair of kidney pouches (for the storage of personal items - underwares and socks, washing and shaving kit, boot cleaning items, tewnty-four hour ration and any other items that the user may need to have secured), a poncho roll and a large pack. The standard webbing could be altered to take additional pieces of needed components, an anexample of which is the attachment of a sleeping bag or kip mat and blanket and torch.

There were a number of ancillary pouches available for specialist tasks, e.g. pistol holster to hold the issue Browning Hi-Power, compass pouch.

All components in the system are made from a sturdy and tight-woven canvas fabric in a dark olive green. The metal fittings are aluminium, anodised dark green.

In its basic and standard configuration, each of the belt-mounted components is secured to the belt by a pair of double hooks (one double hook only in the case of the compass pouch) at the rear, hooked over the belt above and below, with the ends of the hooks further retained in canvas pockets on the inside face of the belt. However, variations are to be found - including water bottle pouches and ammunition pouches for non-standard personal weapons fitted with a canvas loop into which the belt is threaded, rather than the metal hooks. This method of attachment allows the pouch to be moved around the belt for the comfort of the user, for example when sitting for long periods.

Several of the individual components evolved over the lifetime of the 1958 Pattern system. There were three iterations of the standard (SLR) ammunition pouches, and two of the water-bottle pouch, poncho roll and yoke.

Usage
The equipment was worn in a series of combinations. Weapon Training Order (or Skeleton Webbing) consisted of Belt, Yoke and Ammunition pouches. Combat Equipment Fighting Order (CEFO), was the term used for the full webbing system and once the Large Pack was attached, it became Combat Equipment Marching Order (CEMO).

Over the course of its service, there were a number of developments and modifications. When the system was originally designed, little scope was given to Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical (NBC) warfare and when this was addressed, the system gained a respirator haversack to house the then issue S6 NBC Respirator.

72 Pattern webbing
72 pattern webbing

A proposal to replace the 58 pattern was the 72 pattern.

Current uses
58 Pattern is held in stores by a number of County Cadet Forces to replace aging stocks of 37 Pattern webbing which were still on issue in the late 1990s. The belt in particular seems to survive as an unofficial form of dress (replacing the general issue Working Belt) by older soldiers when worn with Combat Soldier 95 clothing.