Original British WWI Souvenir Belt with 16 Attached Regimental Badges & 6 Other Insignia Original Items

Original Item: One-of-a-kind. American soldiers were known for their love of souvenirs in the Great War; So, a lot of material history of the war came across the Atlantic with returning soldiers. Among collectors of military memorabilia from World War One “SOUVENIR BELTS” are items of interest.

German soldiers’ leather belts, and other belts from participating armies, that were festooned with buttons from soldiers uniforms are called Hate Belts / Souvenir Belts / Grave Digger Belts. These made for excellent collector’s pieces.

“Hate Belt”: the idea was that if a German soldier had killed or captured an Allied soldier, then he would have the button from the newly deceased or captured soldier attached to his belt as a kind of notch of conquest on his belt. This, no doubt, is the most intriguing explanation for those decorative belts.

“Souvenir Belt”: this description is apt for many of the belts that are in circulation today. The souvenir belt would involve a German infantryman’s belt being decorated with buttons and tabs from troops BOTH Allied and CENTRAL Powers and kept as a remembrance of The War.

“Grave Digger Belt” description is self explanatory, to a degree. Troops burying dead soldiers would sometimes remove buttons from those they buried as a remembrance. It is impossible to determine the origin of most belts, but some of these highly collectible belts provide some hints as to their origin. Nevertheless, these belts provide for excellent points of interest for collectors.

This example offered in very good condition features a blue web belt with leather fittings, which ENGLAND marked on the pouch snap, so this is definitely of British Manufacture. It has a small pouch for possibly a compass or watch, another pocket, and definitely provided a nice large canvas for souvenir items.

It features an impressive 22 items in total, 16 which are regimental badges, as usually seen on headwear, or sometimes on other parts of the uniform. The other 6 are some smaller regimental buttons, as well as various unit badges with markings like INF and NZFA. All look to be from British Units, including areas such as as AUSTRALIA and CANADA, which later became the British Commonwealth. Most of the items are attached by their original pins/clasps, with a few sewn on.

The belt measures about 32 inches long and 3 inches wide, with twin buckles on the end. It still could be made longer, but some of the insignia would need to be removed.

An extremely impressive item! Ready to display!