Blue puttees
Puttees provided ankle support and stopped muck,
debris and critters from getting into the boots
Newfoundland’s governor answered Britain’s call to arms in August 1914 with a promise: the dominion would raise a regiment, enlisting the first 500 soldiers within a month.
But with Newfoundland’s situation—a population of only 241,000, a depressed economy, and the last military unit stationed on the island disbanded since 1870—how could the citizens’ committee so charged recruit, train and equip the Newfoundland Regiment?
“Your King and Country Need You! Will you answer your country’s call?” asked an Aug. 22 advertisement encouraging men 19 to 35 to enlist “for the duration of the war, but not exceeding one year.” Pay was a dollar a day, plus rations. By Sept. 2, 74...