WW2 British Commando 7 pocket Sten Magazine Pouch

These now very rare pouches were designed in England for British Paratroopers and Commandos.

Paras & Commandos needed to carry a bit more ammunition to conduct successful operations behind German & Japanese lines where immediate resupply was difficult.

Finding any original pouches like this one is very difficult. Finding an original Indian Made copy is a coup!

As you can see, this pouch has all the hallmarks of Indian Made kit. The “brass” hardware seems to be some kind of alloy with plating. The brasswork, especially the holes in the end tips, is very crude. The metal is a bit sharp. The weave of the shoulder strap is clearly “striped” as you can see. One end of the shoulder strap is cut and sewn to the body, not finished. Lastly, there are no markings.

India also made commando knives in WW2. It would be carried alongside this pouch. 

There were actually many true Commando units in SE Asia in WW2:

No 1 Commando

No 5 Commando

No 42 (Royal Marine) Commando

No 44 (Royal Marine) Commando 

142 Commando Co which also operated in conjunction with Merrill’s Marauders.

The British 14th army also formed commando platoons and/or companies within some Regiments.

In addition to the British Commandos, the Chindits, Gurka commandos and Indian Commandos would all have been issued this Indian Made Pouch.

The first four Commando units listed actually fought the Germans first before being sent to India.

This is a actually a very nice example, probably unissued.  However it had magazines stored inside as shown by the transfer marks.