Australian WWII - Far North Queensland Metal detecting and recovery

[Ubique]

Great posts Sweep.
Did the enamel mug have the D/l\D on the base? I have a good one but had to purchase it (from the Bendigo swap meet several years ago).

Oz.

[AT P Sweep]

Ubique

Nah ! First thing I looked for ~ only seen on come out with the logo on it ~ In fact I have only ever dug one fork with the Dept Defence logo ~


NO shortage on logo'ed Water drum bungs though !!

[AT P Sweep]

Worked till midnight each night this week ~ bed around 01.00 ~ up at 07.15 ~ as predicted prefect day and it held up all day ~

Off around 08.15 to meet with Terry ~ Terry there earlier and was off for a ‘local ‘ Hunt till I arrived ~

Problem was I was ready but ~ no Terry ~ Obviously off on his own !

Eventually I rallied him up around 09.30 ~


We headed off and aimed our sights for several new sites ~ ALL looked very promising ~ We felt very confident as there were some period type beer bottle fragments scattered around and the landfall was extremely conducive to a camp site of WWII being very flat and a lot of regrowth!

MALANDA AREA, QUEENSLAND. 1944 12 16. CORPORAL E J NEWTON, 7 DIVISION PROVOST COMPANY, (2), ON DUTY AT A BAILEY BRIDGE CONSTRUCTED OVER MAUDE'S CREEK NEAR SPRING. ( Newton chats to a bewildered local about the appearance of the bridge virtually overnight! 084288 )


So we geared up with high hopes ~ It soon became very apparent ~ very quickly that these two areas were going to be a fail !

Tere no finds short of a few 303 cases and a Dept Defence period water drum bung~

After an hour or so we reassessed the situation and agreed the area was too clean ~ which we agreed was bulldozed the entire area cleared for potential development ~ and most likely the residue trucked way and dumped who know where ~

The fact that there were no large tree trunks even remaining was another tell tale sign ~ the point being that in most camp sites there are always large tree trunks usually hand sawn off back in the day !

So eventually we moved to old grounds to try our luck again ~

We eventually worked several camp sites and managed a few bits and pieces which made for another good day with Mates.

The small mug is intriguing as it is either pewter or aluminium ~ perhaps a rum shot mug (?) I plan on cleaning it up ~





KAIRI, QUEENSLAND. 1944-12-01. 225 FIELD PARK COMPANY, ROYAL AUSTRALIAN ENGINEERS TROOPS ADJUST TACKLES BEFORE LAUNCHING DURING THE EXPERIMENTAL CONSTRUCTION OF A BAILEY BRIDGE. THE BAYS SHOWN ARE THOSE ORIGINALLY CONSTRUCTED TO TAKE A TRACTOR.

[Ubique]

I may possibly know what that mug is. Is there sign of a handle having been fitted?

Oz.

[AT P Sweep]

I may possibly know what that mug is. Is there sign of a handle having been fitted?

Oz.

Yes there is indeed ~ please enlighten, mate ~

[Ubique]

Well, if the internal dimensions of your mug are close to 41mm diameter by 35mm high then what you have is the cup which fits on the spout of a medics water bottle. Medics bottles are much bigger than standard issue bottles and come with a cup for giving the sick and wounded a drink in a sanitary fashion. I have attached a photo of my medics water bottle (which ironically is missing its cup).



Cheers,
Oz.

[AT P Sweep]

Well that's impressive , Oz ~

Mine is 35 mm wide at the top and 55 mm deep ~ but that fits ~ as I also found in the same immediate area a identity tag , one JH Watson and he was part of a Field Medico / Ambulance crew !

[Ubique]

I guess the different manufacturers probably had slightly different dimensions. The dog tag is a great link to the site.

Oz.

[AT P Sweep]

Well~ If it was not for your deligence we would not have been any the Wiser ~ thanks Oz

I am really stoked on this one ~ but put the fact that the ID tag was found within metres of the cup ~ right!?

Now flash to the service record of the Digger ~ joined 1940 ~ discharged 1945!!

2 /11 Field Ambulance

The 2/11 served throughout North Africa and Palestine ~ so lets assume the bottle and mug were Watson’s ~ this Digger saw very real and active service ~ I wonder how many Diggers were given a swig of water from this mug ~ after they had taken a hit !! ?

Almost a Holy Grail here ~

[AT P Sweep]

WESTERN DESERT, EGYPT. 22nd July 1942. WALKING WOUNDED BEING HELPED OUT OF THE AMBULANCE ON THE LEFT AT THE 2/11TH AUSTRALIAN FIELD AMBULANCE, WITH A STRETCHER CASE IN THE FOREGROUND. 024636.JPG

I was more than a little inspired to get out there yesterday and find some more 'gems', but not to be as the 35 deg heat again coupled with high humidity beat me ~

But hey ~ not a total loss ~