Virtual Visit #79 - Bell Tent

A standard pattern Bell tent was adopted by the British Army from the mid nineteenth century. This style of tent saw extensive use by Australian military forces both at home and abroad in both world wars and beyond. Although there are not extensive records,the earliest conical style tents began to take shape around 600 AD during the reign of Emperor Maurice for the use of the Byzantine Army. After that, bell tents appear as early as the 9th century. The Crimean War (1853-56) was the first heavily documented war, due to the invention of photography and telegraphs. Photographs show that both British and Turkish encampments used bell tents.