Wartime No5 Cleaning kit brush?

[Peter Laidler]

We always understood that the wood handle ones were issued for the tropics because the insect repellent simply melted the plastic handles and by the time you had brushed the sights clean the handle had stuck to your hands. The insect repellent was made by a chemical firm in Jockland called BAOchem. In Oz, we said it stood for Britains Agent Orange. To be honest, the blanket stackers at Ordnance in Singapore didn't care what they sent out

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[browningautorifle]

the insect repellent simply melted the plastic handles

Ours too. Very harsh stuff but I personally need to bathe in it as the biting insects affect me badly. I swell like a bee sting. The bug juice ate everything...dissolved it.

[22SqnRAE]

...the insect repellent simply melted the plastic handles...

I recall the evil liquid repellent was useful only for starting a wet hexamine tablet in the jungle as it was wonderfully flammable (or perhaps degreasing a transfer case access cover on a Series 3 Rover...?)

Anyone in their right mind that wished to be free of mozzies, leaches, midges, flies, bats, drop bears and spiders was sensible enough to buy and use commercially available repellent called RID.