Thread: Need Help: UK - vintage ahaving mores and items - 1914-1920

Come to think of it, I read somewhere that the mustaches had to come off with anyone out in the lines because of gas all right. I'd hazard that - on top of that - scalp and privates most likely already itched enough, having lice in the beard must also have been icky. So question 2 is sort of solved

Cheers

B.

Originally Posted by Matt69

I also have a razor stamped "H. M. Govt", made by J Rodgers ('Cutlers to their majesties') and I've always assumed it was made for the military.

Hmmm... Looks very close to the "Surgeon Razor" in Soviet Union. Made fully from stainless steel for disinfecting by high temperature in autoclaves

Originally Posted by Berenice

Come to think of it, I read somewhere that the mustaches had to come off with anyone out in the lines because of gas all right.

I heard that the safety razors came in general use due to the appearance of gas-mask. In old masks the rubber was not vulcanized well so it stick to the whiskers and facial hairs. And solders need to shave off often and well.
Beards were prohibited coz it prevent the pressurization.
I took a look on the photos of Russian soldiers and saw that in the beginning it was a lot of people with the facial hairs and at the end of war the people were mostly shaven. Even the mustaches. Except the navy and cavalry. They keep their "man sign" untouched.
Hope it helps.
Sorry my bad English.

Привет Neff!

Yes, that's what I also suppose is the main reason. And I discovered that for the British the uniform rules were lifted to allow for the clean-shaven look but after 1916, though a lot were shaven including the upper lip before that. Makes sense.

Your English is far better than my Russian

Cheers

B.

Yes, with a full face gas mask getting a proper seal would be pretty impossible with a beard or even heavy stubble on the neck and jawline. I don't see a mustache as being too much of a problem though.

In the early 1970s the navy was almost the only branch of the Canadian military that were allowed to grow beards, the growth of which has to be requested first. People with beards were warned before doing firefighting and going through the gas hut to at least trim the facial hair on the neck to jawline.

You knew when somebody got it wrong when they puked in their masks. The consequences in the trenches during WWI would have been lethal, not the slightest bit humourous as it was for us.

Bob

Originally Posted by BobH

I don't see a mustache as being too much of a problem though.

You need to take a look at their mustaches
Our ancestors have had HUGE facial ones. I got the special mug from my great-grandpa with special bridge in it to keep the hairs out of the tea. Don't have the pic of it right now, but it looks like this one

So it looks like some barrier for breath and if we remember the moisture in first gas-mask (at my military service I have tested the 1939 gas-mask and it was horrible) it can be issue for usage

Neff

That is so true, I completely forgot about how mustache styles have changed over the years. No matter how they improve on those gas masks I don't think they will ever be really comfortable to wear.

Bob