Australian WWII - Far North Queensland Metal detecting and recovery

[RMD]

AT P Sweep.. A true adventurer. Good luck, and, stay safe!

[AT P Sweep]

With ANZAC day )Australia's rRemeberance day ) rapidly approaching (25th April) I figured this would be appropriate to share this story ~



My Mum now 89 was good friends with one Ken Leighton who was at the time in a retirement village in Wagga.



They often chatted and knowing of Ken's military serve in WWII~ Mother shared the story of her eldest son who always wanted to join the Military or Police services ~ but unfortunately could not pass the medical/s ~



Ken gave this watch to her and asked her to give it to her Son, Stuart ~ moiré,~with his best regards. He since passed away.

The watch he carried during his service in the 2/17th Bat. The 2/17th has a wide ranging history from the Mediterranean and North Africa to the Papua and Borneo ~



The unit was based on the Atherton Tablelands at Millstream near Ravenshoe.

MOROTAI, 1945-05-30. MEMBERS OF D COMPANY, 2/17TH INFANTRY BATTALION, PRACTISING DISEMBARKATION DRILL FROM HMAS KANIMBLA IN PREPARATION FOR THE OBOE 6 OPERATION.

Members of 2/17 Infantry Battalion and 2/2 Machine Gun Battalion aboard a landing craft vehicle. Personnel are on board No 2 boat of the second wave making their way to the starting line for the landing on Green Beach during the Oboe 6 Operation. Identified, but position unknown are: NX176150 Private (Pte) G Tobin, No 5 Platoon, 2/17 Battalion; NX83086 Pte E W Bowker, C Company, 2/17 Battalion; NX16452 Lance Corporal W G Shaw, C Company, 2/17 Battalion; NX90389 Corporal (Cpl) L W C Harvey, C Company, 2/17 Battalion; Pte R Barry Battalion Headquarters, 2/13 Battalion; NX166257 Gunner H P Ross, No 58 Battery; NX1163 Cpl J J N Cubitt, 2/8 Australian Field Regiment; NX110767 Pte J Hurst, C Company, 2/17 Battalion; NX171390 Pte J P Jacobs, 2/17 Battalion; NX168916 Pte B O’Malverey, A Company, 2/17 Battalion; NX71736 Pte W J Eveline; NX65835 Cpl M R Dean; NX30119 Sgt F Davidson; NX34548 Sgt D Mitchell, 2/2 Australian Machine Gun Battalion; VX93422 Pte D R Norquay.

BRUNEI AREA, BORNEO. 10 JUNE 1945. MEMBERS OF 2/17 INFANTRY BATTALION RIDING ON A MATILDA TANK. THEY HAVE JUST CROSSED FROM GREEN BEACH TO YELLOW BEACH.




I made a post on my FB resulted in A very exciting moment !


It seems that the driver of the Matilda tank may well be in fact be a Good friend Noelene's Father who served in the Aust 1st Tank regt. and served in Borneo ~


What a cool find that photo will be.


I suggested she ~ 'Noelene' could order a high definition photo available from the AWM
possibly proving the case.


I sharpened the photo above and much improved version ~

[MAP]

Very nice! I'm sure you take well care of the watch. It's "been there" and more!

[AT P Sweep]

CHers Mate ~ and the Wtach works fine ~ theymade them to last in back in the day ~

I am planning to have his name and serial Number engraved on the Back so that it is NEVER lost in time ~

In fact I may donate it to the AWM in the future ~

[AT P Sweep]

Deviating slightly ~A 75 mm shell case ~ something completely Different ~

Post WWII 1950 jet technology ~ First of the Jet Bombers ~


Gifted to me some years ago decided to clean it up ~

Came up Nice ~

Rolls Royce Avro Electric Canberra jet bomber starter cartridge. ~

English Electric Canberra - Wikipedia

2,689

[lithgow]

I remember seeing Canberras flying around the Perth area in the early 1980s flying from RAAF Pearce...a great aircraft.

[AT P Sweep]

An intriguing response on my FB page ~ which may be of interest to site member regarding the Cartridge ~

If it has been fired the inside of the cartridge is impregnated with poisonous chemicals.

Have to ask one of the bunnies more about what, but suffice to say it will make you very sick if you drink from it.

This was a 2SQN traditional parting gift, [ A tankard made from the cartridge casing ] made from a disarmed, un-fired cartridge that is chrome plated on the outside and silver plated on the inside.

Tony ~ Thanks for that heads up~ bloke ~ I mean we all know about the toxin episodes related to the FI1I fuel tanks and I know peeps related that BS ~ but again~ this shows one should tred carefully in the collectors game ~

( I gave thanks in Hindsight I treated the Casing with my ( Vinegar based ) snake oil and used rubber gloves scrubbing out with running water ! )

[AT P Sweep]

Been very Quiet of late with a horrendously long Wet season plus personal issues ~

But here is a pleasant distraction some might like to get involved in ~



My cousin, a retired Police officer was a unofficial care taker for a neighbour and the old fella is now battling cancer ~

He was greatly appreciative of the efforts made to assist in cleaning up his residency ~ and gave his blessing to acquire" what ever they wanted ~.

My cousin found this ~ which he believes belonged the old man's brother who has long since departed, was a service man who served in WWII~

]


What is the badge to the extreme Right? English?

The challenge here is What is the Swastika badge ?

Is it a civilian good luck charm ~ or a Dutch or even Finnish ~ medallion ~

My theory was that the Swastika on Charms was reversed ~ or did the Nazis reverse the Swastika in the Theory that their heraldry of good Germanic Blood lines came from the East and the Himalayas ~ and the rotation carried that heraldry to the heart of Germany / Austria!?

[Ubique]

Hi Sweep, the unknown English badge is our Wide Bay Regiment badge.
I have attached a photo from my collection.
Cheers,
Oz.

[BlackCat1982]

The swastika badge appears to have come from something else and been made into a badge, the fixings on the rear don't look "tidy" and the whole arrangement is haphazard. Perhaps a pre Reich piece of jewellery that has been "nazified" by another owner. Great collection of badges though, a pity the old soldiers stories of where and how he acquired them has been lost.