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Stable Belts &
Corps Belts in the
Australian & NZ Armies Page 2 |
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A selection of 10
NZ stable belts |
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NZ Cadets belt (above
and below) |
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In 1973 the New Zealand
Army phased out the old web pattern belt and adopted stable belts. Each
corps, Regiment and Battalion (in the case of the Infantry) became
eligible to wear a stable belt.
The colours on the belts have special
significance and stem from the Regimental Colours and the colours of
lace and facings on the uniforms of the original Units that the current
units grew from or that are allied. In about 2002 the NZ Army moved
to using a single "One Army" belt.
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stable belt was used by soldiers in both the British and Canadian Armies
in WW1. These belts were worn under the tunics so they are rarely
seen in photographs. Some were decorated with badges in the "hate
belt" fashion. This Canadian belt is hand decorated with
flags and a French inscription "Gloire aux Allies". I can
find no record of stable belts being issued to AIF but some soldiers did
privately purchase them, often as souvenirs. See some badges mounted on
one at Assorted Badges
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decorated stable belt appears to be WW1 vintage and is decorated
with the flags of the European Allies with, as usual, the Union Jack
representing the Empire, not just UK. I believe it to be the property
(originally) of a British Tommy. |
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Many soldiers used a
stable belt (hate belt) to carry their collection of hat badges. |
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- This belt carries many badges,
mostly Allied.
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| Belt
from WW2, brought home by a NZ serviceman. It bears several Italian
badges & insignia. These were referred to as "hate belts" |
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Stable
belt of
1st
Battalion
Duke of Edinburgh's Royal Regiment
(Berkshire
and Wiltshire)
(49th,62nd, 66th and 99th)
Circa 2002
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More details at
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