Shown is a Canadian Military Nursing Sisters belt, around the WW2 era. The belt is made of brown leather, with a brass and silver colored buckle showing a lion on a crown, acorns, and oak leaves.
Leather waist belts, with their distinctive buckle clasps, were part of the uniform worn by all nursing sisters. The belts changed little over the years and were among the nurses’ most popular keepsakes once their nursing careers had ended.
It was a tradition for trained nurses to wear a buckle on their belt. This was usually silver and often Victorian in appearance. This was the only bit of individuality allowed in a nurse’s uniform. The buckles were normally worn with a black petersham belt (petersham is a sturdy woven tape used to stiffen belts).
Description: It is a uniform leather belt with gold metal buckle comprising two circular parts which fit into each other. The outer buckle circle has leaves moulded into it and the inner circle has a Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps crest moulded into it. The surplus belt folded to the left of the buckle. It was held in place by two pieces of leather and a piece of metal, all three of which wrapped around the belt.
This style of belt was worn during both WW I and WW 2.
(Left) Photo of belt buckle in the museum (Right) Photo of belt and buckle worn with Nursing Sister’s uniform.