Does anyone recocognize this Canadian webbing marking?

Hi Guys!

I picked up these 1941-dated Canadian Pattern 1937 support straps recently and was wondering about the markings on them.

The Manufacturer was Zephyr Loom & Textile and both styles of markings can be observed on the two pairs (large and small print). The odd thing is the large letter 'A' on the small print straps. I have seen similar markings on auxiliary pouches made by Zephyr in 1941 and I was wondering if anyone might know what it denotes. I think the earliest Australian requests for webbing were in 1941, so perhaps this was an early practice by Zephyr to earmark webbing made for Australia? Any thoughts?

That is the first I have seen that "A" on canadian webbing.

New to me. Australia perhaps...a lot of canadian web went there.

48th wrote:That is the first I have seen that "A" on canadian webbing.

Here is another letter "A" on a ZL&T 1941 auxiliary pouch in my collection. All items that bear the "A" stamp appear to be dated 1941 from my observations...

Just to throw another possibility out. Maybe an early form of War Assets stamp?

Bill wrote:Just to throw another possibility out. Maybe an early form of War Assets stamp?

Very interesting idea Bill! I found the following on Wikipedia and was wondering if it is referring to the same agency. If so, it may be too early to early to be a war assets stamp, as it appears that it was included at the time of manufacture.

"In 1944, the Government of Canada created the War Assets Corporation...Its mandate is to manage the surplus moveable assets disposal program for the government, providing quality service to clients while obtaining best value for the Crown...For over 60 years, CADCs have been involved in the direct sale of surplus materiel ranging from ships and cars to furniture and clothing, as well as seized goods on behalf of federal government departments and agencies"

Here is an example of the Canadian WAC stamp.