A couple of questions on Puttees...

It really did vary quite a bit who wore them.

It's fair to say that most troops in NWE didn't wear them. However elsewhere it varied quite a bit.

In the desert it seems to be a 50/50 with anklets/puttees. Some units had them, some didn't.

In Burma it was a bit strange and in some squads they actually had a mix of puttees and anklets. I guess supply determined that.

It was partially personal preference, but also I find puttees to be more resilient and easier to clean.

As for putting them on. Wind them tightly around the ankle covering the top of the boot and the trouser bottom or hose tops. Do this in such a way that the puttee end will be facing backwards on the outside. So clockwise on the right foot and anti-clockwise on the left. Try and get the end to sit on the outside of the foot, in a similar way that you'd have the tabs on an anklet.

When you get to the end of the puttee start with the tapes. Wrap around the tapes until you don't have much left. Take the end and fold it over. Push it up under the tapes just near the end of the puttee in a loop, then pass the end of the tape through the loop, pull it tight and push the loose end behind the end of the puttee itself.

If wearing trousers then you'll find some trouser twists very helpful in holding them in place.

Long puttees go on in exactly the same way, but go up the leg. Note they are three times the length of short ones.

Jap puttees go on in quite a different way if you ever try those!

I hope that helps.

Trouser twists or elastic bands somehow stop the trouser bottoms coming out of the puttees. Don't know why, but they do.

Another tip is to re-roll the puttees before you put them on so the tapes are on the INSIDE of the roll. This means you just unroll them around your ankles to put them on and don't have to fight with yards of material.

Another tip is to re-roll the puttees before you put them on so the tapes are on the INSIDE of the roll. This means you just unroll them around your ankles to put them on and don't have to fight with yards of material.

I usually keep my puttees rolled like that all the time when stored, with a trouser twist on each one holding them rolled. Keeps everything together ready for putting them on.

I didn't know that...

Were they exactly the same as the ones we have now?

I've never seen them in a book (etc).

It's fair to say that most troops in NWE didn't wear them. However elsewhere it varied quite a bit.

In the desert it seems to be a 50/50 with anklets/puttees. Some units had them, some didn't.

In Burma it was a bit strange and in some squads they actually had a mix of puttees and anklets. I guess supply determined that.

And I've quite a few genuine photos of desert troops (in shorts) wearing gaiters... ...over the top of putties!

And Trouser twists are actually period.

I didn't know that...
Were they exactly the same as the ones we have now? I've never seen them in a book (etc).

They are period - but for the US.

Cheers for that guys, just one last quick question, where on each foot would you place the end of the puttee before wrapping so that they end up the way you say?

Cheers!

That will depend on the size of your ankles and you'll just have to find it by trial and error!

Fair dos, experiment time!

Cheers!

Can't believe no one has mentioned this yet but the SAS wore puttees. They preferred them to gaiters and wore them in the desert, Italy and NWE.

Sorry to drag this up again!

Reading the above, would I get away with wearing them with a Brit Airborne loadout (I don't want to use anklets as I'm going to wear modern high leg boots to keep the cost down), and where do I get them - Cost A Fortune don't seem to stock them?

You can get away with them... but no they didn't wear them.

Some people do seem to have had luck getting anklets to go over the high leg boots.

Sabre should have some short putees... as should some surplus stores as they were used in the 70s/80s. Ebay? Shoot and Scoot?

DMS can cost as little at £20 if you look around and will look a lot better than high leg boots.

I managed to get mine over my high-leg boots. Admittedly on the lower fastener it was a bit of a squeeze but it certainly fits ok. Saying that i suppose it depends what size anklets you have got ?

Just make sure you lace the upper section of the boot nice and tight

Carly gets hers to go around Magnums so it can be done. Depends on how thick the boots are I suppose!

Lowa Combat GTX, so they have a very padded ankle support.

I might look into the DMS route - definitely want something with a tread!

Yeah DMS boots deffo have a tread. They are so much more comfortable to wear than ammo boots too!

Wrapping puttees around thick high-leg boots will make your ankles look huge. Large sized gaiters will look better.