Military Respirator

The introduction of gas warfare early in the First World War and its adoption by most of the armies involved led to the issue of gas masks for every soldier. In the 1930's fear of poison gas delivered by aeroplane also called for protection of civilians. The standard British Army gas-mask carried by every soldier in both World Wars was the Small Box Respirator. The rubber mask fits the face tightly and has two glass eyepieces. These could be rubbed with an anti-misting salve. Spectacle wearers had to use skeletal, wire-framed glasses to fit inside the mask.

Attached to the centre of the mask is a flexible hose, the other end of which is sealed into the metal 'box' containing the filters. Layers of charcoal mixed with chemical granules are separated by cotton wadding. Air drawn into the box at the bottom emerges into the hose with gases neutralised. (One of the filters used was asbestos, so masks should not be tried out) The box fits into one compartment of the webbing case, with brass inlet vents in the bottom. The other half holds the mask when not being worn. To wear the mask, you fix the case in the 'alert' position, tied high on the chest by strings around your back.

Poison gas was not used on the battlefield during the Second World War, though stocks were held in case the enemy initiated gas warfare. The explosion of one of these stocks in an Allied ship at Bari, Italy, caused numerous casualties, many of them fatal.