The Sam Browne belt is a wide belt, usually leather, supported by a narrower
strap passing diagonally over the right shoulder. It is most often a part of a
military or police uniform. Origins
Sam Browne VC was a British army officer serving in India in the 19th century. In
those days officers always carried a sword into battle. It hung from a small
metal clip on the waistbelt, called a 'frog'. However, the scabbard tended to
slide around a lot when they charged the enemy, meaning that it had to be
steadied with the left hand before being drawn.
During the Indian Rebellion of 1857 in India, Captain Sam Browne was serving
with the 2nd Punjab Irregular Cavalry. On 31 August 1858, Captain Browne was
involved in the fighting near Seerporah. As he charged a cannon being reloaded,
he was attacked by one of its crew. Browne received two sword cuts, one on
the left knee and one which severed his left arm at the shoulder. He survived
the injuries but, without a left hand, he found that he was now unable to
control or draw his sword. Browne came up with the idea of wearing
a second belt which went over his right shoulder and held the scabbard in just
the spot he wanted. This would hook into a heavy leather belt with D-rings for
attaching accessories. It also securely carried a pistol in a flap-holster on
his right hip and included a binocular case with a neck-strap. Other cavalry
officers in the Indian Army began wearing a similar rig and soon it became
part of the standard uniform. During the Boer War, the rig was copied by Imperial
and Commonwealth troops and eventually became standard issue.
Infantry officers wore a variant that used two suspender-like straps instead
of the cross-belt. It was supposedly invented in 1878 by Lieutenant Sir Basil
Templer Graham-Montgomery, 5th Baronet of the 60th Rifles while serving in
India. There has been a great deal of discussion as to whether Browne modified
Graham-Montgomery's design or vice versa. Since there were no patents
issued for either design and both camps have accounts backing up their claims,
it may never be decided. Usage
Due to its former use as equipment for carrying a sword, it is traditionally
only worn by those to whom a sword would historically have been issued, namely
officers and Warrant Officers. Throughout most of its modern history,
however, its main function has been to carry a pistol, and it was found to be
particularly useful with the heavy pistols typically used during the first
part of the 20th century. = Finland=
In the Finnish Army the Sam Browne belt, officially known as a "command belt" or
"officer belt", has been used by officers and senior NCOs as well as
officer cadets when wearing service, dress or parade uniforms. Currently it
is mainly used by high-ranking officers during parades and other ceremonies, as
it's only worn with dress uniform M58 and service uniform M83; while most Army
and Air Force personnel, excluding cadets studying in the National Defence
College as well as soldiers on ceremonial duties, use the camouflage
uniform M05 as their service uniform, and the use of the "command belt" with
any camouflage uniform except M62 is strictly forbidden.
= Axis powers= The Sam Browne belt featured prominently
in many uniforms used by the Nazi Party in Germany, again in imitation of
earlier European uniforms. It was popular with Adolf Hitler and other
leading Nazi officials. = United Kingdom and the Commonwealth=
In the 20th century it was a mainstay in the British Army officers' corps, being
adopted service-wide in 1900 during the Second Boer War after limited use in
India, and later becoming popular with military forces throughout the
Commonwealth. After World War II the Sam Browne belt
saw a decline in use in the Commonwealth. It was dropped from the
standard officer's uniform in 1943. However, officers, and Warrant Officer
Class 1 of the British Army and Royal Marines still wear it in formal dress
and in some versions of full dress. It was phased out by the Canadian
military beginning with the unification of the armed services in 1968.
In Australia all officers are entitled to wear the belt in ceremonial dress;
Warrant Officers bearing the rank of WO1 are also entitled to wear the belt.
Within the corps of the Australian Army there is some variation, with members of
the Royal Australian Armoured Corps, Royal Australian Army Nursing Corps and
Australian Army Aviation Corps wearing black Sam Browne belts.
Rifle belt A different arrangement from the
traditional Sam Browne belt consists of a similar wide belt with two vertical
supporting straps, one over each shoulder. The design put the burden of
the gear, with its heavy ammo pouches on the belt and straps, on both shoulders.
It was worn by the officers of British and Commonwealth Rifle Regiments, who
had to carry a rifle as their service arm rather than a pistol. It was also
worn by big game hunters in Africa and India in the late-19th and mid-20th
centuries. It is often seen worn in movies or TV shows as part of the
costume of explorers or big game hunters.
Its invention is falsely attributed to Sam Browne. It was actually invented by
Lieutenant Basil Templer Graham-Montgomery of the 60th Rifles
while he was on service in India. Although a case of simultaneous
development, Graham-Montgomery was seen as a plagiarist.
= United States= During World War I, the Sam Browne Belt
was approved by General Pershing, commander of the AEF, for wear by
American officers as a rank distinction. However, the Army as a whole did not
immediately approve its use. MPs were positioned at stateside docks who
confiscated them from returning officers. The United States Army
mandated the Sam Browne belt for overseas soldiers in 1918 under the name
"Liberty belt" and for all service members in 1921, this time under the
internationally accepted name "Sam Browne belt". It was a standard part of
the uniform between World War I and World War II. It was limited in use in
1940 when the Army abandoned sabers and replaced with a cloth waistbelt that was
sewn to the officer's jacket. During World War I the Marine Corps
adopted a brown leather Sam Browne Belt. It was later changed to black, the
official color of Navy and Marine Corps leather gear. It is worn as part of the
dress uniform by sword-bearing commissioned officers and enlisted
non-commissioned officers in the Corps today. Senior Drill Instructors wear the
sword frog on a modified version as a sign of their office during Recruit
Training. After the First World War, Sam Browne
belts "become almost universal among American police". The utility belts worn
today by American police usually lack the cross-strap and the attachments for
them. The belt fastens in the same way, with the bar of the buckle engaging a
pair of hooks and the end of the belt retained by a post and keeper loop. They
are also frequently fully lined, as opposed to the old style half-linings,
to support equipment the length of the belt.
= Use in police forces worldwide= The Sam Browne belt is largely obsolete
in police and security use due to risk of strangulation by potential opponents.
It has sometimes been referred to as a Suicide Belt by personnel. It had
enjoyed some popularity with civilian police agencies worldwide and was
probably most widely worn in this context during the 1940s and 1950s. This
use has gradually faded out due to field safety concerns. It is part of the
ceremonial dress uniform of many agencies, most notably the Red Serge
worn by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
In Australia, a white Sam Browne belt and strap is worn by the Victoria Police
Mounted Unit, the New South Wales Police Force VIP Cyclists, Protocol Inspector
and Protocol Sergeant, NSW Police Academy Senior Protocol Officer and
Parade Sergeant wear a black coloured leather basketweave Sam Browne belt and
strap with silver coloured fittings as a badge of office. The same Sam Browne
belt is also worn by the Australian Federal Police Ceremonial Mounted Cadre
and AFP Drill Instructors. In Italy a black Sam Browne belt with
red trim is still worn by Carabinieri Warrant Officers and Officers; a white
Sam Browne belt is also worn by Italian Police enlisted personnel.
In Ireland, a black Sam Browne belt is worn by Garda Síochána officers of the
rank of Inspector and above when the tunic is worn.
Safety The Sam Browne belt has been proposed as
a solution to occupational safety and health concerns about injury due to the
weight of equipment on police officers' belts. However, others have expressed
concern that the vertical design of the belt could enable criminals to gain
physical control of law enforcement officers in an altercation.
Civilian use During the interwar period, the belt
became fashionable among some American and European women. Eleanor Roosevelt,
the first lady of the United States at the time, openly spoke out against the
practice. The belts also became a symbol of civilian authority by "everybody from
bus drivers to volunteer schoolboy traffic cops". The belt's use by junior
safety patrol members became iconic. Since the 1970s, the use of Sam Browne
Belts has increased in popularity within the Queer BDSM Leather subculture.
Reflective Sam Browne belts are a popular safety device among cyclists for
increasing their visibility, and a bright orange version is often worn by
school crossing guards in junior safety patrols.
Professional wrestler The Big Boss Man wore a Sam Browne belt as part of his
ring attire, which was meant to emulate the uniforms of law enforcement
officers. See also
Police duty belt Junior safety patrol
References External links
"Sam Browne and beyond: a look"