[Lynn Eades]

As far as the Crosby goes, I don't know either but the reels of telephone cable were in common use in WWII. My 1941 British built Armoured OP carrier had brackets for one of these, front and back of the carrier. There were also wooden frames that held these spools. A man wore them, at front, with the strap around his neck. This allowed him to walk and feed out cable or wind the handle as he walked to roll it up. I think these may have pre dated WWII, but not sure.