First Night Camping in WW2 Officers Tent - Heavy Rain 

My dad and six of his brothers served in WWII in every theater. He and I (the youngest of four siblings) spent a great deal of time camping in the Adirondacks just like this. He taught me many survival skills including foraging. Pine pitch makes excellent gum to chew on and clean your teeth is something I still use when in the woods. I miss my dad so much. Thank you for bringing back to me the fondest memories I have of my growing up years.

When I as a Guide we were taught to roll the tent flaps inwards to prevent rain getting on the reverse side, so when you close for the night it isn't wet in the tent. And no sleeping bags. We learnt to make and roll a swag

Hey Mike! My name is Dominic and I'm 11 years old. I really enjoy watching your bushcraft videos! You were kind of like an inspiration for me. In my woods, I have created what I call 7 Acres. It is a village of forts. So far I have built four freestanding forts, three lean to's, and two a- frames. I also just built my first Fire with flint and steel! I would really appriciate a response and some more bushcraft tips. - Dominic

Wauw that takes me back 30 years to my scouting days. These tents are beasts. Very heavy but so versatile. The type we had you could roll up the doors and the sides leaving you with just the roof to really air it out. Much easier to put up with one person holding the pools up while standing in the tent as it’s being put up.

My Dad was an officer stationed in India during WW2. Brought back his equipment tent, cot etc which we used for camping as kids. Brings back fond memories

I’m 74 years old and in my Boy Scout days when I was 10 or 12 years old that’s the kind of tents we used. There were no light weight nylon backpacking/hiking tents. Consequently we did not do a lot of backpacking and hiking, we camped out of cars where you could load your tent in the back and haul it to the woods and set it up. They were durable, they were waterproof, unless you touched the inside in a hard rain. You learned that lesson really quick. Thanks for the memories.

Hi Mike! The mushrooms look like young puffballs (Lycoperdon perlatum). They're a saprobic species, meaning that their role in the woodland is to break down organic matter - also they're a good edible mushroom, harvested young before the spores develop. (If anyone reading this is encouraged to forage edible mushrooms, please do a lot of research first.)

As a scout who uses these types of tents quite often and I am very impressed that you set that up by yourself

Dutch Lacing. That's what the loop and eye system is called. We use it on traditional marquees and big top tents.

My father had a tent like that when I was a kid growing up just north of Toronto, Canada. It was an actual British Army surplus tent from WWII. The poles were starting to rot, and I was always afraid the top one would collapse and fall on us while we slept 😂 when I was a teenager, we'd set the tent up in the yard and have a party. Whoever was too drunk to go home just stayed in the tent 😊 you'd be amazed how many drunk teenagers would fit in it. Just don't tell your kids 😉

We used these tents in the Scout group I belonged to. We had two and a flysheet and would set them up in a line, the flysheet inbetween the two tents to make one really big living space. We would lift one side of the flysheet using two extra poles and the middle would be our kitchen, living area. In the winter we could put four pallets in each tent to create a wooden floor. The lower sides could also be rolled up to allow ventilation in the summer and let smelly boy stink blow away.

My parents where campers and so we kids where too. I once spend 6 weeks in such a tend in the dunes of the North Sea. I loved the sound of the rain and no heavy wind could harm me. I loved the smell of the mornings and I loved the sound of the sea from over the dunes. I loved all about it. When we went back to our house I felt sad and lost. Thank you for bringing back my memories.

Proper 1980's scout's memories are flooding back! 😊

I taught so many guides how to put these and 6 person patrol tents up. It is easier to put up a 2 man on your own if you have 2 guy ropes on a dolly at each end and storm set the guys. Also, unfolding the tent and laying the poles in position with the upright poles foot where you want it to end up (knock in a small peg straight down as well to mark your ideal pole foot position). Small pegs should go straight down not angled, then the walls hang straight down. To maintain health of the tent the walls should be looped each morning to allow the hessian to dry and once dry can be rolled to allow the tent to air and give shade on a hot day. Always roll doors under not over so when it rains and you undo them, you don't end up soaked (learnt that the hard way!). When you undo the lacing on the back door, pay attention to the threading as it is very secure and keeps draughts out a little.

I’ve had an Officers Tent (WW2 re-enactment) for over 3 years now, it’s stood up to storms, heavy rain and glorious sunny days. I’ve not treated it in any way except as you said about hosing it down when I first got it. , As the tent is 6x6 I place my bed across the back, then it acts as a nice seat for looking out. And yes, you do do it up the way you did with the loops

Hi, I am seventy-two years old and apart from a stint in the navy have spent all my life in the UK, but this is the first time I have heard a muntjac. I am sorry if I have butchered the name of this bird or animal. I have a caravan in the Hamsterley forest and slept outside as much as possible, it just goes to show you are never too old to learn something.

My late dad loved Exchange and Mart magazine . He bought an ex army large tent plus the canvas beds . As a junior I ( I'm 72 now) can still smell that tent . Great family memories - so thanks from me .

I can just picture one of those half way across Normandy with a little writing table. I actually like the old military camp beds. Quick and easy to put up.

I remember these old tents. (Respectful reproduction.) Excellent for weather protection, but a hell of job to wax. If I recall correctly, we dug out the floor to make the inside seem taller, because my uncle was 6'6''. Thank goodness you managed to salvage this video. Brought back some great memories.

My dad served in WWII and he brought one of the tents home. It must have been a mess tent because it would make 3 of yours. Every summer he would set that tent up in the backyard and bring out his 5 army cots. Us kids had a wonderful time playing in that tent for many many years. My dad died in 1976 and nobody knows where that tent went to. But gosh was it fun and it never got old.

When I was kid growing up in Los Angeles, my dad would rent a big canvas tent from the local Army-Navy surplus store and once we arrived at our campsite, it would take him and my mom an hour or so to put the tent up. I remember the process seemed to involve a lot of shouting and swearing, especially during the part when my dad had to crawl inside the deflated tent with the center pole that held up the ridge pole. Us kids would sit on the picnic table watching, when in fact we were supposed to be out scrounging for firewood, but watching our dad set up the tent was way more entertaining. Once I was grown and moved away from home, my own solo camping trips led me thru an evolution of tents, my first being a simple 20'x8' clear plastic sheet, clothesline, and clothespins. I'd string a line between 2 trees about chest high, spread the tarp out on the ground under it, then toss the tarp over the line, anchoring the bottoms of the tarp with gear and whatever rocks were at hand, then use the clothespins to anchor the tarp to the line to prevent it from sliding down the line. While the resulting tent was open at both ends, being clear it also allowed me to see the night sky and my campfire. I used this tent for many years, thru all kinds of weather, including snow, and it always kept me perfectly dry. My next tent was a "borrowed" one-person pup tent which it's owner ended up gifting to me, as he had never used it and I was "borrowing" it 2-3 x a year for several years. I used that tent until it started to fall apart, maybe 10 years, before I finally broke down and bought myself new tent, which was a large 3-room tent. And while I loved the space the new tent afforded me, it was a cheap tent and leaked like a sieve in wet weather. It also was a royal pain to set up and required 2 people...solo camping was no longer possible. Still, my friends and I, and later my son and his family, got good use out of the tent for at least a decade. But after an especially bad weather experience, I decided it was time for yet another new tent. This time I did my research and had very strict criteria: I had to be able to set it up quickly my myself, it had to provide full head room at the center of the tent, had to be watertight and wind resistant, had to pack small and fairly light, and had to come down quickly. I ended up with a 10x10 Coleman tent with corner poles sewn into the tent which telescope, which enable the tent to be set up in about 60 seconds. Straight out of the box, brand new, it took me 1 min 45 seconds to have up (my roommate timed me). It takes about 2 1/2 minutes to take down, mostly due to having to press air out of the tent. I've only used it 1x in wet weather and it did leak a bit, but that's mostly because I forgot to bring the rain fly. It weighs about 25 lbs, which is a bit heavy for me (elderly woman w/bad back and hips), but I don't backpack, I car camp, and even solo I can manage to lug the carrying case from the car to the tent site. It wasn't an inexpensive tent but I am very happy with it, feel that it was worth the money spent, especially as it's likely to be the last tent I ever buy or use.

Good seeing you back on I hope you have more content. I’m sure the officers had some poor soul to set those tents up. Looks like a lot of work for one man. Good job.

About to watch and I already know it's going to be good, always nice to see a video from Mike/TA Outdoors pop up in my feed!

This might be a good addition to your vw camper van if you find some space to store it in the van.

Another great video as always Mike! This tent design is very similar to the large patrol tents we use in the Scouts, the ones we use sleep up to 6-8 people, but pretty much exactly the same design. The hessian part is called a Sod Cloth, used to go under a ground sheet to stop water flowing under the canvas onto the ground sheet. Keep up the great work Mike! ❤

You did pretty well considering no help or instructions. We used these tents in the 70s in our guide troop camps. Younger guides in Bell tents progressing to (what I now realise having watched your video) were actual army surplus ww2officers' tents. Two things that might make the job easier: ensure the door is closed and peg out tge borrom before you start. Happy camping!

wow, brought back a few childhood memories of my dad's tent from his WW2 days which we used as kids on our lawn. Many happy nights back then spent under canvas. Good to see you can still get them, wooden poles and all just like the one we had. Nice overnighter and great to hear the sound of the rain on canvas again.

Ahh yes the good old British baptism of fire - the rain!

Used these tents at scout camp with pallets on the ground as a floor. 2 scouts per tent, and the leaders each had their own. Our troop used Eureka timberlines for our regular camp outs.

The skirt normally goes under the groundsheet, takes me back to my youth. Thank you

Lovin' the old style tent! Simple, no "fandangled" contraption to try and figure out when in a hurry.

Take me back to scouting days, we had a green Icelandic, solid tents great in winter/snow days, would make a good hot tent

Now you know why Officers never put up their own tents. There is an art to stitching the tent flaps together.

Ah, love it. I just watched the £20 little tent vid and then this one. You're growing on me with your content. Been watching for a couple of weeks now and I like your style. Thank-you 😊

(The USA version at least one unit. Not sure about other units) Memory from the 1960s reminds me that many times there was a canvas floor or the soldiers would build a floor from whatever was available where the camp would be stationed for several weeks. The canvas floor version had pegs along the side holding it in place.

Be cool to see you do a night's camping with the full gear of a ww2 soldier.

I recently binged on Bear Grylls the island ,they would kill for that sleeping bag with screen especially the ones that sleep on the floor for ages 😂

It's wonderful to have your own woodland to camp in. Have you ever thought about a raised tent platform? Thanks again Mike, love your content... And I won't tell the wife.

Eagle Scout back in 1979, did my fair share of canvas tenting-a smell that'll never leave your senses. Another great video TA Outdoors.

I grew up camping in a tent just like that. So many memories. Eventually I graduated to modern tents and then RV's. Now that I am old I have switched back to canvas. I have a Kodiak Canvas truck tent that is great. Thanks for taking us with you on your adventure. Stay safe and God bless.

I used to have a 8 man one of these. I had PTSD just watching you attempt to assemble it on your own. I always loved the toggle closing, so much more robust than any other way.

Our canvas bell tent had the same loop system on the door. It's an interesting loop system until you desperately need to get out for a festival pee at 3 in the morning.

As a scout leader i have put a lot of patrol tents up over the years, just slightly bigger than that officers tent.

That sort of tent keeps the rain out fine as long as you don't touch the inside of the canvass. That brings it in.

Awesome, seen so many comments saying the same thing, , taking us back to our old cubs and scouting days... the old patrol tents, and them pegs, my got.. brilliant, cracking video... atb Ian

I DO sleep outside of a tent often. I sleep on a cot and sliding around of my bedding is a problem. In my part of New Mexico, insects are rare. Still, the screen will help with breathing.

in the states, we use that style of tent at the 19th century 'Westward Expansion' forts, and their re-enctments or rendezvous. However, the are 6 feet tall, and they use the side bar structure to support the walls. If my memory isn't swiss cheese today, you really want that canvas taut, to help keep the rain out of the tent. You should be able to bounce a coin off the roof of the tent. The flaps are known as 'sod flaps.' They are marketed as extra length on the wall for uneven ground levels to help keep the wind and weather out of your tent. During historic events, those flaps must be inside the tent for historic accuracy. Another cool camp, thanks for brining us along. I would also enjoy another camp with your Lavuu [sp?], turned into British Bell Tent.... with the longer center pole.

Oh wow memories from childhood. My parents had a similar family tent. It had a tent pretty much exactly like that at either end with a centre section that was basically a fly sheet between them forming a living cooking area, both tents also had fly sheets too. We were away once and saw a forecast for a strong storm. As kids we went around finding rocks to place on the hessian skirts. There were very few tents still standing by morning, frame tents were just becoming the thing to have and the storm flattened them. As a child I didn’t appreciate it all. Oh yes we had a couple of those difficult camp beds too but I was too young to attempt to fit them together.

Me and my mates used to camp in surplus army equipment from the 1950s and 1960s we are all in our 60s now we had good times. We used to camp on the sand dunes of Ainsdale in Merseyside or Lancashire as it was then in the 1960s.

I've got a Grüezibag by myself. It's one of four sleeping bags i own and it is by far the best! Great range of temperature and soooo comfortable! 🥰

A normal guy opening and setting up a WW2 tent, with no instructions, is probably going to make a disastrous mistake of a pitch-up, but this man has a natural talent when it comes to shelters and put the tent up with ease! .

On this outing, I MISS your WWII Officer's costuming!

I remember my grandad having one of those tents. Only shame is it hasn't got the facility for hot tenting. Imagine how cosy you could be on a winters evening. Great vid, great location, great food

That pack looks a little full there. 😂😂 these tents are awesome though, we have them for my scouts. It’s always fun to have them sleep under canvas for their first camps.

steak in the 4 bottom corners then raise the frame inside and it should stand and you can adjust the lines then! Cheers looks awesome just right size. the short side walls can sometimes be rolled up for ventilation, skirt to outside, weighed down by rocks or sand bags. We spray ours with a hand pump sprayer and Thompsons water seal, (it is ment for wood on decks) you can treat the wooden poles with this also as well as the tent pegs, you can only spray it once so do a good job, get every seam and you will never have a leak.

You would never see an officer put up their own tent, that is why they had grunts to do it! Or my brother who was a Warrant Officer, called them "Maggots". Lol! Those toggle ropes are for staking the flap out as a windbreaker for the entrance.Great video! Thank you for sharing!

The sleepingbag is awesome! The Petromax Pot & the Feuerhand Light everything nice!!!

Love that breathable foot box on the sleeping bag!

I'm 75 and that is what we grew up using, canvas tents, the boy scouts and the like. thanks good to see ya.

I think the pocket on the inside of the sleeping bag is for heating pads to keep warm while sleeping in cold weather

Common puffball, Lycoperdon perlatum. Very tasty. Just make sure they're white and firm all the way through.

I remember this style of tent in the cubs and scouts early 80's. Great to see you again Mike.

As others have said, this is very similar to patrol tents used years ago by the Scouts - one thing I remember is that in rain you want to slightly slacken off the guy ropes (I'm assuming the rope used isn't nylon), as they'll swell with the rain and potentially could rip free of the canvas.

As an old biddy, I know from my ridge tent days to close the door first, peg the base out, put the front post in and then start to adjust the guide lines at the front. Put the ridge in, not forgetting the tent loop that's normally halfway along the ridge, then, while inside, add the rear pole. Adjust the rest of the guide lines. Smaller pegs for the base, larger pegs for the guide lines. Roll the tent door inwards, not outwards, to keep the inside of the door dry in case of rain. Don't forget to tie them with a quick release knot. I even learned in the guides how to properly sew up a tear in a canvas tent! I have an old army stretcher with wood poles in the sides that keep me a couple of inches off the ground. Great for camping by the car, but it's a bit too heavy to walk anywhere with it! Beautiful puffballs, perfectly edible while still firm inside. I teach foraging in Devon, so I know my stuff.

What an unforgettable lovely sound of the rain pounding on tent

You need to make two stiff leather patches a bit bigger than a 10p with a hole in them to tightly slip over the spikes to prevent them pulling back out out and ripping a hole in the fabric as you lift it up , had a similar tent in the 80's

Loved the slow-mo, cinematic bits of the video. Nice touch!

Mike, an excellent video, thanks. That tent is a smaller version of the traditional patrol tents we use in the Scouts. It's fiddly to put up, but very robust as you discovered. I'm tempted to get myself one, as it has more headroom than a traditional tent.

I TOTALLY agree with you about Scandi grinds and vegetable/meat slicing. I DO like Opinel and they are easy to carry along with a larger Scandi grind belt knife.

also, the hessian around the bottom goes on the inside, and tucks underneath your groundsheet - we always called it the sod cloth and it helped prevent water getting into and onto your groundsheet.

I've never seen a tent without a floor before. Great sleeping gear, though, top-notch!

That's a very clever looking sleeping bag. Might have to look into that one!

Tie off the bottom of the front door, then peg out the corners to establish the footprint, then open the door and slide the ridge pole in set the rear pole inside insert the door pole into the ridge pole follow the ridge pole to the rear picking up the rear pole as you go and insert into the ridge pole then tie out the guy lines .P.S. if it is the old type of canvas, don't touch it when wet it will leak when you touch it.

Dad got something similar for us kids in 1950 s ! He set it up in the garden for us to play in ! I remember the wooden pegs were beautifully made ,very slim like knives, think they were made from sweet chestnut timber ! The guy ropes needed constant adjusting to keep the tent in good order!

For more permanent camps where you dont lug around the tent all the time these types of heavy and tall canvas tents are just the best. Sleeps better, more comfortable, stands up to the weather, standing headrom.. So much going for them.

I'm sure we had duckboards on the ground. Also the sides can be rolled up. Not sure this can be done on this one. Tuff tent but susceptible to high winds.

Really enjoyed this video remembering day gone by with the army cadets & the scouts.

As a Boy Scout in Australia in 1980 we had canvas tents and had to bring our own ground sheet ! Now we have swags everything in 1 ! ..... ❤️ the old design 👍👍👍👍👍

My dad must have used this sort of tent. Thank you for this demonstration.

When I was a child, we had a US Army Officer's surplus tent. It was heavier canvas and quite a bit larger than yours. It was also a dark Army green. I loved to camp in it on Dolly Sods, Tucker County West Virginia--the Eastern Divide. We used a heavy tarp of similar material for the floor. One time when I was about 10 and helping my 2 older brothers to install it, I did not get it up the sides inside the tent. The younger of my 2 brothers (who just turned 90) said if I did not, "little Ronald Rattlesnake will come rolling right in." They had a very distinct smell which must have been something they had been soaked in to be water repellant.

We used the same tent on family holidays the smell of the canvas on a warm summers day always bring back good memories

Stiching the doors was called french lacing from what i can remember. If its a good canvas you might not need to proof it. You get a fine mist coming through in heavy rain. Just dont touch it on the inside. The tents we used (6 man scout patrol tents) had a double guy line at the ridge. Once you had the tent fully pegged out you could reverse them (keep them wide enough to not touch the tent) that way no big guylines to trip over out tge front ans back. Glad you had fun.

“As that needle goes through the hole…” waaahaha. 😂 I’m such a child.

Wow, this takes me back! We used this style of tent for years on Scout camps, but they were much bigger with a centre pole as well! When your hands were freezing cold and wet, the door loops were the worst thing in the world especially in the depths of night on Bodmin moor

My brothers and i used to "camp" out in the backyard in one of those in the 1950s. Great memories. Mike from Maine.

That sleeping bag... Love it!

We still use these ridge tents in our scout group. Just a quick note my 6-8year old beavers can put up a larger one in less time.😊

I kept saying that's cool all the way through the video. Great kit there.

I was in irish army. We had canvas tents biger but symular to urs. We use to put pegs into thos loops at rear door and give it a twist so the loop was tighter on peg befor hamering into ground. Love the mossie net on the sleepin bag. U do good wood craft vids. Keep them up

I had a similar experience with tents, I was a medic in the army. When I left I was in the TA, long story short, I was the only person there that knew how to put up a treble 18 x 24 tent

Nice retro tent experience.

Watching you put this up by yourself gives me a real sense of appreciation for modern tents. Even the cheap ones.

I died laughing when you caught urself looking up explaining the leafs and realise it’s pitch black🤣🤣🤣 lovely mate! Keep it up

When I was in the Boy Scouts we used the same surplus tents. This was back in the 70s and I can still smell them. We has plastic sheets for the floor. They were fairly drafty and winters were miserable. Now I almost want one again. 😂

Beautiful tent Mike, this tent is bringing back memories. As a little girl, I'd see similar (but a lot larger) set up at Fairs (each stallholder or attraction other than the foodtrucks) would use an old Army tent as their shelter. ❤

Well that brought back memories. All the tents of my childhood were WW2 tents. That smell of the canvas I’ll never forget after over 65+ years. Setting up took ages. If it was dark it was a major challenge. Hammering those pegs was a mission. Altering the guy ropes in rain was a must. Raised beds? Oh what a wuss we had a smelly ground sheet and a sleeping bag. If the ground was bumpy you felt it. So stamp down before you pitched. Modern life is so much better in some ways!!

Retro Camping! I echo the comments and tips from other campers from past generations who used this kind of gear ( I am 68 years old). My humble contribution is to suggest a shovel in your kit to dig a moat if needed. Rain can happily run through the floor of these tents sometimes and make life miserable, so re-directing the water is a must. Anyone remember using Tide paste on your billy cans? There’s a challenge.

Thank you ❤

Wow mike I think that will make a great addition to your gear that you can use on your new plot of land.

This brought back memories. I used my dad’s identical army tent as a teenager in 1972 it had the same wooden pegs and poles. Never let me down. I remember a massive wooden mallet as well. I that Took that tent everywhere.