Ersatz 37 Pattern Shoulder Brace

A few weeks back we looked at a pair of ersatz utility straps (here), since then I have managed to pick up a single shoulder brace in the same ersatz canvas material. In form this strap copies the more common webbing examples:The brace is made of a twilled weave and is formed of three parts; the central wider section and the two thinner ends are all separate pieces of material sewn together. As before there is a rubber core to the strap to give strength without sacrificing flexibility. The ends of the brace have brass tips for strength:Interestingly the loop on this brace is not made of the same canvas as the rest of the strap, but rather standard woven webbing:Why the strap has this composite construction is unclear, but it has been seen on other examples so is a common variant. The shoulder brace is marked C.P.Ltd with a /|\ mark and a date of 1942:C.P. was the mark for Caoutchouc Products Ltd. This company seems to have made both standard webbing items and these ersatz forms. Sadly I have just a single shoulder brace, so I am keeping my eyes open for a second example without a loop to complete the pair.