transport
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Yeah, war is hell, but Combat is a Bitch!
Posts: 10
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Post by transport on Dec 2, 2009 7:03:33 GMT -8
Ahoy!
Say, does anyone know just when the Mills company started manufacturing items?
Chuck
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johnt
New Member
Posts: 16
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Post by johnt on Dec 4, 2009 4:23:39 GMT -8
Anson Mills started producing web cartridge belts in 1880. The actual manufacture was done by the firm of Charles W. Gilbert, using Mills' patented looms. Two years later, Mills and his brother-in-law founded the Mills & Orndorff Cartridge Belt Company in Gloucester, Massachusetts. In 1899, William Lindsey founded the Mills Woven Cartridge Belt Company of London, England, which was the first time Mills webbing was made outside the USA. In 1905 Lindsey bought out Mills and Orndorff (by this time General Mills was ready to retire) and reorganized the American company as the Mills Woven Cartridge Belt Company. The next year, Lindsey dissolved the London firm and founded the Mills Equipment Company, Ltd. , also based in London.
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transport
New Member
Yeah, war is hell, but Combat is a Bitch!
Posts: 10
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Post by transport on Dec 5, 2009 9:24:03 GMT -8
Ahoy!
Well thanks Johnt. That is pretty neat! Now I wonder just how many different styles were made and how many different types of gear was made besides cartridge belts?
Thanks again! Chuck
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Post by Jerry Lee on Dec 5, 2009 20:55:14 GMT -8
That is what I have set up the forum to study. There will never be any knowing the complete answer. Mills tried many different product lines, including items for outdoorsmen and hunters as well as military equipment. Mills would make up custom webbing sets for a single county militia regiment in the UK, and state militias in the US sometimes bought equipment directly from Mills. Mills was always looking for contract from other countries, and only a few of those are known. There is a beautiful set of Mills webbing made for the Thai Navy Navy on display in the Belgium Army Museum in Brussels, probably the only one in existence. There are photos in Mills brochures of web equipment made for the French, but I have never seen a single piece of it. I have a special officer's web set, including sword frog, dated 1927.
Hopefully someday someone will publish an exhaustive study of Mills webbing. I hope this forum will help to collect some of the information needed for the long-awaited book.
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johnt
New Member
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Post by johnt on Dec 14, 2009 18:24:20 GMT -8
There are pics of the Thai webbing Jerry mentions in Alfred Kruk's wonderful book Patronentaschen, Patronengürtel und Banduliere 1850-1950. I don't have permission to display those here, but below are front and rear views of the only piece of that equipment in the Karkee Web Collection, a cartridge pouch. ![](http://www.leemetford.com/millsforum/pouch_obverse.jpg) ![](http://www.leemetford.com/millsforum/pouch_reverse.jpg)
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Post by steved409 on Dec 14, 2009 18:54:08 GMT -8
Major, You mentioned direct state militia purchases. I have seen on eBay a couple of times (but have never seen one first hand) supposedly NY State ammo belts that look like web pockets attached to a 1912 style pistol belt. Anyone seen one of these?
SteveD
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