Sam Browne belt Sam Browne belt The Sam Browne belt is a wide belt, usually leather, supported by a narrower strap passing diagonally over the right shoulder (although Royal Canadian Mounted Police non-commissioned members wear theirs over the left shoulder). It is most often a part of a military or police uniform. General Sir Sam Browne was a 19th-century British Indian Army officer who had lost his left arm; this made it difficult for him to draw his sword, because the left hand was typically used to steady the scabbard while the right drew out the sword. Browne came up with the idea
The Newcastle Eccentrics of the 19th century The Newcastle Eccentrics of the 19th century The Newcastle Eccentrics were a group of unrelated people who lived in and around the centre of Newcastle and its Quayside between the end of the 18th and early/mid 19th century. Around the end of the 18th century and the early and mid 19th century there were many characters frequenting the town centre and quayside of old Newcastle, These were characters who were described as "Worthies", "Props" or "Eccentrics" and would later be more gently described as "unfortunates". All had some form of physical or mental disability, but were looked upon as "unfortunates"