Infantryman in the King’s Royal Rifle Corps, United Kingdom, 1914.

In 1902, the British Crown decided to provide its standing army with a new field uniform. The new uniform was made from dark khaki wool, with a modern and understated style.

This uniform was a true cultural revolution. It was inconspicuous, with a simple cut: a pea jacket with four pockets and a turn-down collar, straight-legged trousers, and puttees in the same fabric. Marching shoes were made of black leather. They also had practical canvas kit: the Pattern 1908 Web Infantry Equipment, which was provided from 1908. This ingenious system, in ring-spun cotton, combined all of the soldier’s useful equipment in one single piece and was functional and comfortable. It had a wide belt, two cartridge pouches, a bayonet frog, metal canteen with a woollen khaki sleeve, a haversack, a case for an entrenching tool, and two large braces, to which a large valise was attached. Lastly, the Lee-Enfield repeating rifle had a magazine that could hold two chargers with 5 cartridges.