Leg, ankle & foot wear


Loyal Association leggings 1800	Colonial Cavalry High Boots	Boer War Officer's High Boots

Pair of khaki woollen puttees. Each puttee consists of a 2.75m length. A .162m cotton tape secures it below the knee.

At the join between the fabric and the cotton tape is stitched a black fabric label with the gold machine embroidered text 'FOX WELLINGTON SOMERSET "F.I.P" PATENT 14214-1909'.

At the ankle end of each puttee is a small circular brass disk marked with the manufacturer's name 'FOX' and the letter 'L' or 'R', indicating the leg on which it should be worn.

Puttees were long strips of woolen material, 3 inches wide, bound round and around the lower leg from ankle to knee and were intended to stop water and mud sloshing into boots and breeches.

They were cursed by soldiers as worse than useless; they cut off circulation when too tight because they shrank in the wet, and unwound when too loose, hampering movement. What's more they did not keep the water out of the boots.

They made a short return in WW2 and were used as ceremonial dress in Malaysia in the 1960s.

Sparke & Sons Films Pty Ltd

World War 1 Infantry puttees

World War 1. Boots on issue to all Australian troops including Light Horse were brown leather ankle boots, lace up, with leather hob nailed soles and they had a steel "horse shoe" on the back of the heel.

Similar boots made a comeback in WW2. Later versions, issued right up until the mid 1960s were very similar but were not hob nailed. They did however have a hardened cap added.

Australian spiral fastening leather leggings with brass buckles. The twin buckle mountings at the top of the leggings have been unpicked and moved to a slightly 'tighter' position. The markings 'AUSTRALIA', 'W.A.' and 'C.G.H.F.' are impressed into the leather in several places.

Boots and leather leggings of the Australian Light Horse as issued during the Great War. Note the 'butterflies' on the front to protect the laces from the stirrups. Image from Grants Militaria

Knee boots worn by Brigadier General CBB White during the First World War, possibly in the field.

Pair of private purchase brown leather knee or field boots with leather soles. The top of each boot is fitted with an external leather loop and two white internal cloth loops for pulling the boot on. There are nine pairs of metal lace eyelets and the soles have been fitted with rubber cleats bearing the legend: 'Phillips Military Sole, Size A Special Quality Stout RD no 644802 and 646025' and 'Phillips Military Heel 3 Stout Special Quality Patent RD no 645522'. These have been nailed to the soles. Both boots have been equipped with leather laces, while those on the proper left boot have been repaired with part of a string lace. Image & text from AWM.

In WW2 the boots remained basically unchanged. The toe cap was hardened and the hob nails were no longer used but they were still 100% leather. As puttees were already proven to be useless in the field, they were slowly replaced with "gaiters" (see photo above). These were canvas with leather straps and brass buckles. They were dyed to suit the colour of the uniform being worn. The buckles were worn to the outside of the leg.

After the war when these became part of ceremonial uniforms they were either "blancoed" khaki or dyed black and polished with boot polish. In either case the oxidized brass buckles had to be polished to a high shine. It was a tedious job as the boot polish must not be on the buckle and the Brasso residue must not be on the polished canvas.

Image, above top left, from Sparke & Sons Films Pty Ltd Photo left shows the US anklets with the US non polish combat boot as worn in WW2. The Australian Army (photo right) also started issuing the anklets which were much better suited for jungle warfare. As can be seen the Yanks were allowed to blouse their trouser legs over the anklet with the use of rubber or elastic straps. This was not allowed in the Australian Army until the mid 1960s. Above lower left, Short version of the US anklets or gaiters; above lower right, the full length canvas US leggings.

Australian 1920s "ammo " boots, black with steel heel horseshoe, toe plate and hob-nails.


WW2 to 1960s issue boots. Issued brown and dyed black if and as required. Note the cleats on the soles and the steel "horse shoe" on the heel.

The leather soles of WW2 pattern Army boots circa 1950. The upper one is worn. The lower one is brand new. Note the hob-nails to give traction, the steel toe cap to protect the leading edge of the sole and the steel horse-shoe to protect the heel. Many Unit RSMs insisted the the arch of the sole be polished to maintain flexibility.

Korea, c. 1951-02. A member of the 3rd Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (3RAR), puts on a pair of American Arctic rubber overshoes over his normal Australian Army boots AB.

3RAR soldiers wore two pairs of socks, an inner sole and two pairs of boots to keep their feet dry and warm in the cold Korean winter. (Donor I. Robertson) AWM image & text

Majon'ni, Korea. 1953-06-21. A soldier demonstrates the new patrol boots issued to Australian troops of the 2nd and 3rd Battalions, The Royal Australian Regiment (2RAR and 3RAR), in Korea.

They comprise heavy rubber soles and canvas lace-up tops.

In the jungle warfare of the Malayan Campaign the British and Australian troops were issued with canvas and rubber "jungle boots" similar to above.

The photo left is the newer version that grew from those early models which resembled tennis shoes with canvas leggings.

The modern versions are used by some US troops and now have a steel plate in the sole and are made of leather and tear-resistant nylon.

In Malaya in the 1950s and 1960s puttees made a comeback, worn over long sox and only in ceremonial uniform.

As can be seen in the photo the puttees were worn at ankle length only.

Note the newer pattern ankle boots. Made brown and then dyed black and bought to a very high shine.

After the start of the Viet Nam War the Australian Army took a lead from the US Army and started to issue GP Boots.

The name came from the official title, Boots, general purpose. They continued the idea that had started with boots issued to parachute troops as special equipment and that had been trialed, by the USA, for front line troops during the Korean War .

They had a steel toe cap and a steel plate that ran the full length of the molded rubber sole to guard against Punji stakes.

When the Displaced Pattern Combat Uniform (DPCU) was introduced so too was a new greenish brown GP Boot. (above)

It had special properties and was not to be polished with normal boot polish.

The Army, for the first time ever,

agreed to supply the special leather treatment required. That did not last long. Troops started using polish instead of the much more expensive leather treatment so the whole experiment was allowed to quietly slip into history.

The black GP boots are still on issue but only for ceremonial use. For field dress brown molded sole, non polish, suede finish boots are issued.

Worn by Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF)

1960s Black leather General Purpose boots with stitching over the toe, front lacing and side zip fastenings.

The boots extend beyond the ankle and are reinforced with an extra strip of leather down the back of the leg and around the heel. The sole has three layers of leather and rubber with a three centimetre heel. In addition to glue, the sole is nailed to the boot at the toes and under the arch. The laces are made of black cotton. AWM image & text

Pair of Royal Australian Navy black leather General Purpose boots without toecaps. The boots have black rubber soles and each has 13 pairs of metal eyelets for laces.

As worn by Australian boarding parties engaged in Operation 'Slipper', the interception by coalition ships of suspected smuggling vessels in the Persian Gulf during 2001-2002. Image and text by AWM

Pair of Australian Army issue 'Taipan' boots without toecaps. Each boot has two pairs of brass eyelets and five pairs of riveted loops to retain the black cotton laces. The toe, heel and lace reinforcing areas are made of waterproof leather, while the remaining upper sections are of woven nylon reinforced with nylon webbing. The soles are of tan coloured rubber. Worn by an Australian Special Air Services (SAS) Regiment trooper in Afghanistan, 2002.

"TERRA" GP Combat Boots, as worn by the Australian Defence Force. Terra GP boots are made by the Australian Company RedBack Boots.

These boots have proven their versatility and strength during the recent Iraq conflict. They are the pinnacle of comfort in footwear for the modern soldier.

Included are the comfort inserts both for the sole and for the tongue. (not shown as they are in the boots). The Special "Terra" boot cleaning tool will ensure that these boots are maintained in top condition.