Army boots can be a bit of a pain. Ask any soldier - boots can make or break you. You cannot march or fight well with ill-fitting boots and painful feet. They are essential footwear for most of the world's soldiers. Yes, most, for there are still some soldiers who are expected to fight in native footwear, which includes none at all.

Before progressing, the last remark prompts a story. Malaya 1949. British soldiers are searching a longhouse in the jungle for signs of communist guerrillas. Tommy disturbs a basket and large, hairy spider rushes out. Tommy, with stout leather boots jumps back in fright. Native, with bare feet and smile on face, crushes spider underfoot. It ain't what you got, it's the way that you use it.

Army Boots - the British experience

a guide for the non-military

British Army boots, ammunition boots, are traditionally black, however, during the reforms of 1908, brown boots were recommended as better camouflaged, although best boots were still black. The Field Army of 1914 was issued with two pairs, one black, one brown, both of which were carried on active service. Sadly, from 1914, only black polish was provided for use in the field and because of production issues, the brown boot was discontinued. Officers, on the other hand bought their own footwear and polish and still wear BROWN shoes with Service Dress.

Design

The design criteria for army boots is mighty complex because different trades have different requirements. Protection is foremost followed by foot health and comfort. There are good strong boots that protect your feet from the environment, but are murder on your feet (lesser of two evils).

I had a pair of green jungle boots (c1965) which were great to wear, dried out quickly but, having proofed canvas uppers, had no protection for the top of the foot and only rubber reinforcement for the toes

Materials

Boots are made of leather but some boots for tropical wear have fabric with leather reinforcement. This fabric can be natural or man-made although most prefer natural as it does not promote sweating. (Sweat = smell = bad feet). One man-made fabric that made the grade is Gortex. It is breatheable and waterproof. It just costs a lot! However, no polish is needed or desired as it negates the breathability of the Gortex.

As an aside, the British Army saw fit to issue polyester socks, which were harder wearing. Unfortunately, they also made the feet sweat more. The Falklands campaign showed just what rubbish they were and were replaced with 70/30 wool mix socks. Initially, these were issued to new recruits but the old soldiers had to wait until theirs were worn out. Difficult to achieve, since everyone bought decent socks and no one wore the polyester ones.

British boots are also unlined, or have a lining only for the toe end of the boot. Canadian combat boots, which are fully lined are a joy to wear - until they get wet. They do take longer to dry out. It was not until 1983 that the BCH (Boots Combat High leg), that every other NATO army had, reached British troops. Once again the Falklands influence made its mark. They were wonderful until worn for any length of time. The first design did not allow sufficient flexing of the leather at the heel and it buckled in after use. This put pressure on the Achilles Tendon and caused injury to more than a few. The current pattern is far better in this respect.

Soles

Soles are a different matter. The original leather sole was reinforced with metal studs and plates and promoted good marching. The Guards still use them for ceremonials. The US army began issuing composition (rubber) soled boots during WW2, frightening many British civilians as they marched at night during training in the UK.

The Brits issued quiet rubber-soled boots for specialists and ammunition storemen (no sparks) but finally adopted the DMS (Direct Moulded Sole) boot about 1958. It was still an ankle boot, which served us well until it died a death in the Falklands conflict . They were issued, as usual, two per man, but for the first decade one DMS and one pair ammunition boots (best wear). We had our fitness run in them at one period of time, until someone realised that it was causing injury

Toecaps

All British boots until the BCH had a toecap. Beloved of Sergeants-Major, they were originally added as reinforcement, but were ideally suited to BULLING. This involved spending many hours with cloth, boot polish and water (NOT spit) to produce a flawless gloss. Rumour has it that bulling was introduced into the British regiments in India so as to occupy their spare time, which would otherwise be spent drinking or womanising. Bulling is officially not practised now, however the words, 'polished to a deep shine', mean exactly the same thing.

Breaking in

The traditional method of 'breaking in' or softening boots was to urinate in them just before Lights Out, empty them, apply polish without buffing and leave them overnight. They were worn the next day (!) which worked wonders on the hardest leather. The urine was replaced with warm water at some time, making this a less odorous activity. Modern methods include waxes and liquid softeners and the old, but effective, method of getting the recruit's feet wet and muddy for the first few days.

Fastenings

Laces are the principle fastening, either woven cotton or leather. The traditional method is the King's Tie or Lace. All, until the introduction of BCH, went horizontally across the laceholes.

The King's Tie or Lace

Tie a knot at one end of the lace, big enough to prevent it pulling through the lace hole. Thread it through one of the bottom pair of laceholes with the knot inside. Thread through the other lacehole from the top and feed vertically up to the next higher lacehole, then through and out to the front. Continue up the boot until all laceholes are laced. All that should be visible are the horizontal laces across the front of the tongue. Tighten and wrap the loose end around the top of the boot, tucking the loose end under itself to secure.

It sounds a bit strange - but it works. The BCH does not lend itself to this method and to counter the tight lacing which caused the Achilles Tendon injuries already mentioned, the soldier was allowed to vary the lacing to suit.
Laces are still the best item for fastening, but there is a zip insert that can be attached to the boot (by laces!) to make it easier to get on and off quickly. This is fine until something goes wrong with the zip and then it's back to laces again.

Waterproofing

Boot Polish applied regularly can keep leather supple and waterproof. True waterproofing will make the leather unable to breathe and cause damage to the feet. Most soldiers are taught to remove boots and air the feet at regular intervals to prevent foot infections. A major problem with ammunition and DMS boots was the lack of a seal for tongue and laceholes. They leaked like sieves. Conversely, they were easy to empty and dry.

The Boots Combat High (BCH), on first issue , were supplied with waterproofing wax. This lasted about a month before reversion to wax polish. The BCH, like most modern boots, has the tongue attached to the boot by gussets along the whole length. The lace holes, therefore, have no connection with the inside of the boot. As long as the gusset leather is treated to repel water as well as the body of the boot, then they are relatively waterproof. However the gussets are a pain if you have high insteps like me, since you have to undo all the laces to get the b****rs on

The British army boot was originally designed for marching in as was the German jackboot, or 'dice-shaker' as the infanteer called it. Willi, a cleaner in one of our German barracks during the 1970s, marched nearly to Moscow and back in his. After WW2 the emphasis changed and the infantryman was carried into battle and was only expected to move about three miles on foot. The Falklands conflict threw that into touch and we started marching again.

I have painful memories of all these boots. I joined the Army Cadet Force in 1965 and wore the old, leather soled ankle boot. I left the Army after Regular and TA service in 1999 having lost acres of skin from my heels and two sockfuls of blood. Me and thousands of others.