A German propaganda postcard showing dead "English" soldiers (according to the German caption) arranged in a wooded area near Fromelles just after the battle of 19–20 July 1916. The Australian War Memorial notes that many of the soldiers are already covered with groundsheets: eyelets from groundsheets (used to lower the bodies into the deep graves) were recovered from the Pheasant Wood site. The burial pits at Pheasant Wood remained undisturbed for over 90 years. Their existence was discovered following research by retired Australian teacher Lambis Englezos.
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However, patterned uniforms were worn by some other units, including from 1941 the Luftwaffe, which had its own version of Splittertarnmuster, as well as the Kriegsmarine (navy), the Fallschirmjäger (paratroops), and the Waffen-SS. The 1945 Leibermuster was planned to be issued to both the SS and the Wehrmacht, but it appeared too late to be widely distributed. Production of groundsheets, helmet covers and smocks by the Warei, Forster and Joring companies began in November 1938. They were initially hand-printed, limiting deliveries by January 1939 to only 8,400 groundsheets and 6,800 helmet covers and a small number of smocks.
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Where quoted, groundsheets may be rated for 5000 mm or more. Many tent manufacturers indicate capacity by such phrases as "3 berth" or "2 person". These numbers indicate how many people the manufacturer thinks can use the tent, though these numbers do not always allow for any personal belongings, such as luggage, inflatable mattresses, camp beds, cots, etc., nor do they always allow for people who are of above average height.
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The Chasseurs Alpins had arrived from Dunkirk. The Trentham camp was initially organised by the local YMCA volunteers. The FAFL pilot Marc Hauchemaille (1907-1942) recorded in his diary that "There are six or seven thousand men in the camp – a miracle of English organisation – in a few hours we have tents, groundsheets, cooking utensils"George Henry Bennett, The RAF's French Foreign Legion 1940–45 (2011), p.22. – although proper medical facilities took longer to organise.
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Although he trained as a doctor he joined the business of his brother George. The firm of George Spill & Co. manufactured waterproof textiles in Stepney Green, East London Trade Card,Science Museum accessed 23 Dec 2007 by spreading rubber onto cloth. The material was much in demand for capes and groundsheets for soldiers in the wet conditions of the Crimean War. Spill became aware of Parkes' claim for the waterproof qualities of Parkesine probably at the 1862 exhibition.
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They can also be used as groundsheets, but this is not recommended since it creates wear and tear which can lead to holes. A stand- alone fly is a multi-purpose tool and is very flexible. For example, a fly can be put up in a wide variety of shapes depending on the environment and the weather, whereas a tent usually has a pre-set configuration for its structure which can be adjusted somewhat but not substantially. A fly also has the advantage of being particularly light and portable.
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Brookes had a variety of business interests. Before World War I he had an iron foundry in Essex, and was also involved in Eugen Sandow's Institute of Physical Culture, an early gymnasium for body builders. Brookes and his father were both directors of the Piccadilly-based company, Sandow (Limited), which was wound up in 1916. At the start of the war he became managing director (MD) of the Junior Army & Navy Stores; later he set up a factory which manufactured equipment for the British Army, such as canvas buckets and groundsheets.
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Camouflage smocks were designed to be reversible, providing camouflage for two seasons, whether summer and autumn, or summer and winter (snow). Distribution was limited to the Waffen-SS, ostensibly because of a patent, though variants were used by other units, including the Luftwaffe. Production was limited by shortage of materials, especially of high quality waterproof cotton duck. The Reichswehr (Army of the Weimar Republic) started experimenting with camouflage patterns for Wehrmacht uniforms before World War II and some army units used Splittertarnmuster ("splinter camouflage pattern"), first issued in 1931, and based on Zeltbahn shelter halves/groundsheets.
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Bivouac shelter with Aneto Peak () in the background, Pyrenees range Single-sided designs allow easy access and allow the heat of a fire into the shelters, while full roofed designs have much better heat retention. As a general rule the roof should be at least a foot thick and opaque to block sunlight. Artificial bivouacs can be constructed using a variety of available materials from corrugated iron sheeting or plywood, to groundsheets or a purpose-made basha. Although these have the advantage of being speedy to erect and resource efficient they have relatively poor insulation properties.
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The trenches varied in depth, but they were usually about four or five feet deep, or in areas with a high water table a wall of sandbags would be built to allow the defenders to stand upright, fire trenches were provided with a fire step, so the occupants could return fire during an attack (see diagram). Ideally, the bottom of the trench was lined with duckboards to prevent men from sinking into the mud and dugouts were cut into the walls, these gave shelter from the elements and shrapnel, although in the British Army dugouts were usually reserved for the officers and senior NCOs. The men were then expected to sleep wherever they could and in wet weather they lived under groundsheets or in tents at the bottom of the trench on the duckboards. At the front, soldiers were in constant danger from artillery shells, mortar bombs and bullets and as the war progressed they also faced aerial attack.
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Beck was a Torpedoman Second Class in No 2 Service Company, Permanent Militia, Port Chalmers, in the 1890s. With the Garrison Torpedo Boat Corps abandoned by Imperial decree just after the turn of the century. Beck relocated to Auckland and by 1904 was employed by the Defence Stores Department as the Defence Storekeeper for the Northern District Stores Depot, Goal Reserve, Mount Eden, with the rank of Honorary Lieutenant in the New Zealand Staff Corps. In 1914 he was the Officer in charge of the Camp Ordnance for the Auckland Divisional Camp at Hautapu near Cambridge in April 1914. The Camp ran from 28 April to 11 May and he was responsible for managing store issued from the Auckland Defence Stores, including; > "66 indicating flags, 80 Axes, 100 picks and handles, 800 water buckets, 800 > wash basins, 82 picket ropes, 81 brooms, 5000 groundsheets, 13 roberts > cookers, 13 horse troughs, 20 overall suits, 1320yards galvanised iron > piping, a 2000 gal water tank, 1 large swimming bath, 11 flagstaffs, 500 > nose bags, 566 pairs of boots, 455 mattress covers, 500 blankets".
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