Puttee - History

History

It was first adopted as part of the uniform of foot and mounted soldiers serving in British India during the 1890s. It was subsequently widely adopted by a number of armies including those of the British Commonwealth, the United States Army, the Chinese National Revolutionary Army, the Italian Army and the French Army. Puttees were in general use by the British Army as part of the khaki service uniform worn from 1902, until 1938 when a new Battle Dress was introduced, which included short webbing gaiters secured with buckles.

Puttees generally ceased to be worn as part of military uniform during World War II. Reasons included the difficulty of quickly donning an item of dress that had to be wound carefully around each leg, plus medical reservations regarding hygiene and varicose veins. However the cheapness and easy availability of cloth leggings meant that they were retained in the Japanese and some other armies until 1945.

When the British Army finally replaced Battle Dress with the 1960 Pattern Combat Dress, the webbing gaiters were replaced by ankle high puttees.