Sam Browne belts are a combination of a pistol belt or garrison belt and a shoulder strap. The Sam Browne belt was named after General Sir Samuel J. Browne, 1824-1901, of the British Army in India. The strap was intended to help carry the weight of a heavy pistol.
The Sam Browne belt was phased out of the Canadian military beginning with the unification of the armed services in 1968.
Right – Officers’ tunic during the First World War
By the start of the Second World War, Canadian Officers were wearing some variation of this tunic and belt. On the battlefields of Europe, the soldiers were outfitted differently.
Officers and Warrant Officers I Class wore a distinctive pattern of Service Dress which was identical to British officers. They were privately purchased and of better quality than an Other Ranks uniform.
In 1942 a Canadian pattern of Service Dress Jacket, often referred to in regulations as a “Walking Out” uniform and officially the “Jacket Serge, Drab (Open Collar)” was introduced. The jacket was an open collar design requiring other ranks for the first time to wear a drab collared shirt and tie. No shoulder straps were attached, a cloth waist belt in matching material was provided, and all pockets were exterior patch pockets.