British 1908/1937 Pattern Entrenching Tool

[@RiflemanMoore]

Karkee Web - www.karkeeweb.com/

[@williammorgan1860]

I inherited my great grandfathers entrenching tool and his shoulder haversack, good to know that the pigsticker bayonet can addon to make the mine clearance piece

[@davidbrennan660]

Always keep a rag with your Entrenching tool and its carrier, it has more uses than you can think of when you are standing around in a field wearing military garments of an obsolete pattern.

[@leighrate]

One thing you absolutely want with that thing is a nice sharp file. A sharpened tool is infinitely easier to dig with than a blunt one.

[@caractacusbrittania7442]

Found one of these today, in some scrap, From a house clearance. It is item three in your introduction. It is complete with the bayonet probe, But has two brown leather frogs with it. Thankyou for an informative video.

[@blakestephens523]

for sale?

[@davidbrennan660]

Simon you are spoiling us... a video on entrenching tools is second only to one on minor variants of Water bottle straps...😂 Bless you Sir, bless you.

[@chrissheppard5068]

It is amazing what I and others did with a small shovel and pick as issued in my career in the 70 80 and 90ties. All due to ignorance really, from day one all we had was that large spoon for a shovel. Typically under the train hard fight easy rule we always had to dig in on outrageously hard ground. It was back breaking just digging but bare in mind all done tactically. I.e. no eating or making of hot drinks until you had at least a Fire Trench dug. If I were given such a small tool for such an awesome job now I would just tell them to Fk right off. Now were are my carpet slippers? PS when fitted to a large pack it often caused injury to others if anyone was careless putting that pathetic large pack on 58 pattern.

[@jasonpullan488]

Awesome information! Thankyou! Recently acquired on of these at a boot sale, a 1915 chillington one with the w stamp and a G stamp on the spade face along the spine. Brought for $2 NZ. Be a permanent addition to the tramping/bug out gear 👍

[@geodkyt]

What I found interesting was some news photos of soldiers showing their *actual* equipment layouts in the field during the war. Such as one chap in the South Pacific who had his boot polish and dubbin stuff jammed into his entrenching tool carrier, along with his spare pipe, housewife, and a few other bits. I'm presuming the difficulty in retrieving the tool head without spilling all the other gear (and somehow securing that gear while using the tool) was offset by the limited use he actually had for the e-tool in the jungle, as opposed to just using GP shovels and picks (which it seems almost every section carried a pair of jammed through the belts of the riflemen anyway).

[@andrewcombe8907]

Also useful as coshes when doing night picquet around the barracks.

[@bushcraftbasics2036]

One good thing about it was stutdy enough to be able to start your shell scrape trench from the prone position. Not a great shovel but I could see that being useful.

[@gw2058]

One bit of kit not carried by the Australians and Patt 37 kit although carriers were made late war (1945). I don't even think they were carried in Korea, although GS and RE shovels were carried. Japanese entrenching tools were often seen and photographed being carried by Australian troops in the SWPA, along with GS and RE shovels.

[@stephenarnold5981]

I remember seeing them being sold in the local Robert Dyas complete with web carrier for £2.50 back in the mid seventies !

[@williammorgan1860]

That bargain pains me

[@mikewinston8709]

I’m a 2434 from 74 - 98….non teeth arm. I used one of these on exercise in 1975.

[@davidjones5416]

Did the Navy use this for burials at sea?

[@Grahame59]

Excellent as always. 7:50 you said you were going to give a link to Khaki Webb but can't see the link.

[@johnmutton799]

Handle was used as club!

[@DavidSherratt-jb6oh]

The one I have is a 42 head & 44 helve, dam usefull still Dave

[@olivier3847]

is there any account of these carrier covers being used to carry other items such as extra ammo magazines or grenades?

[@martinryder6910]

Where do you store all this kit ?

[@mikewinston8709]

In a webbing carrier on your back. Horribly ungainly.

[@RawdonOConnor]

Less than obvious point: no good comes of using the helve with the 1908 Intrenching Tool for use as a spade. The pick blade works just fine as a handle, especially when prone, making the tool into a sort of large trowel. Using the helve as a handle: 1. ensures repetitive strain injury to the arm (Golfers' elbow), usually of the trigger hand, within minutes 😞and, 2. when used with two hands, needs care not to smash the pick blade into one's forehead, eye, etc. on the upswing. Jus' sayin'.

[@ridge2542]

There’s plenty of photographic evidence of the Mk2 helve being carried during Market Garden in September ‘44

[@jonprince3237]

They also appear in photographs of the Normandy campaign from late June/early July, which was the army being unusually quick off the blocks as I think the A.C.I. introducing them was from May or June 1944, so whether that implies they were alerady in production and starting to work their way through the system prior to their official notification of adoption, I don't know. I seem to remember hearing they were given some level of priority for issue, but it certainly doesn't appear to have been on a wide scale based on period images, they were certainly being used in the field fairly soon, but seemingly not widely.

[@gleggett3817]

so nearly 50years after I was playing with Action Man, I find out how the toy tool goes together and why one end was of much smaller diameter

[@danielkemp4860]

My family has one. From my Dad’s uncle I believe, stamped 1917. Not sure which South African unit he was with or where though…

[@reddevilparatrooper]

Very well thought of if a soldier needed to dig very quick to dig a fox hole.

[@mabbrey]

mine probing must have been terrifying

[@MicMc539]

Still is.

[@66kbm]

For all the history of "E-Tools", they mostly seem to be very small, only able, as you stated, to provide quick cover/shell scrape for the soldier. Even in modern times, most countries E-Tools are "Tri Fold" types, small again. Now i come in defence of British 1958 pattern web gears E-Tools, the shovel and the pick. Small enough to carry, big enough to dig big with. As far as i know only the British Army had E-Tools this big, they worked well, very well. Small-not very efficient, to, Big-very efficient, to, Small again-not very efficient.

[@mathewritchie]

What is this blanco?I tryed googling it and none of the links made any sense.

[@MicMc539]

Gods punishment for Military Police and the British Army. I think it's something like Tennis Shoe whitener. DUTY FIRST.

[@caractacusbrittania7442]

Still used it in the army cadets in the early 1970s, Gators,belt,webbing, Lovely stuff.

[@flatmoon6359]

We had to dig in our generators about 2 feet down with pick and short shovel then a fighting hole as if there was no heat signature from 6 generators. Stupid idea,we prayed for farm buildings to set up in.

[@MicMc539]

Generators! Bloody Luxury!!!! I was never 'rear' enough to hear a Genny! Buildings? Artillery magnets! 4 - 6 weeks in holes in the ground, thank you! Your Army sounds very comfy. DUTY FIRST.

[@flatmoon6359]

@@MicMc539 How else do we keep the officers wine chilled, it's not like they are going to rough it. One Armoured Div(As was,) wasn't very Rear!.

[@MicMc539]

@@flatmoon6359 R.A.A.C. Australia's 21st Century protected species. ''Never to be exported or shot at.'' 😀(said with a smile).

[@NGMonocrom]

Sorry to say but the Germans during The Great War had a better entrenching tool.

[@beakytzw]

Thank you for all your videos, they are really educational and informative. Top skills. Can you provide the link to khaki webb please?