Normandie British 6th Airborne Div. area 2011

[WW2Hunter]

Everything you see here was found in one field.
Except for the usual cartridges and chrapnel, I found a piece of a fork or spoon,
there is something ingraved in the back what is IMO a A&6.
I'll leave it to the experts in Brittish material to ID the items.
A piece of porcelain: REW HALL W 1941
2 ammo boxes: empty and badly rusted
German & Brittish ammo: 9mm, 303, .30 & 7.92
1Fuse?
3mortar caps
1 igniter from a german mortar bomb.
1 small screw-on cap?
a huge piece of a driving band?
The remains of a artillery shell?
opinions and help are most welcome.
Regards,
Steven

[Steve T]

Nice finds Steve. Love the ammo boxes

Steve T

[WW2Hunter]

Thanks Steve,
The farmer who owns the field had allready pulled 7 of them out of the ground.(they were all dug in at one edge of the field)
Do you know what the use was for them?
And the fuse? I know it's badly damaged, is it possible to know if it's german or brittish?
Does the ingraving on the back of the spoon,fork mean something, if so was it standard procedure in the Brittish army(Airborn div.)to do so?

Cheers and thanks,
Steven

[Steve T]

Without knowing the dimensions of the boxes it's difficult to tell for sure Steve. The one that is pictured in the ground is an artillery or mortar crate.

I would get at the fuse cap with some hot soapy water and one of those pan scourers made of tightly coiled strips of metal. This will remove the surface muck and some of the corroded metal, but may just bring out some markings. These will be the only real way of IDing the cap. Oh, and the three mortar caps you found are very nice and should have 'remove before firing' on the top.

As to the cutlery handle, I have a feeling that the markings are actually someone's initials, given the nature of the scrolling lettering. The cutlery I've found over the years has very simple marks indicating it was for WD or AM use (War Department or Air Ministry), and certainly nothing as elaborate as the lettering on yours.

Cheers

Steve T

[Whitehunter]

Hi Steve, Nice to see your back out digging. Cracking finds! thanks for sharing.

John

[WW2Hunter]

They are about 60cm long and 25cm by 25cm for widht and height. (these are aproximations)
The 2 I found were the same construction as the 7 others the farmer found, they all had that rac in it.
I will try to clean the dirt of the fuse, but it is very fragile.
The mortar caps have as you described it "remove before firing" on them, also a directional arrow with Nr.152.
When I pulled them out of the ground there were still traces of black paint (number or letter markings?)on them, but no way to preserve it, it came off just by rubbing the dirt.
As to the cutlery handle, it will be a longshot to ID the owner than. I thougth it had something to do with div. or unit markings.

Thanks WH,
you're doing great also looking at your last posts, I try to go as often as I can.
But we just bought a house so the wife is not to happy when I go out in stead of helping her out.

Cheers,
Steven

[GEORGE]

what a wonderful find, i love these items, well done and really appreciate you showing your finds steve. george w

[haal1]

hi,

i don't speak english very well, but i want to say that it's nice thinks there...

[WW2Hunter]

Thanks George,
I love to chare my findings, I hope this site will give-up more relics the next time I'll go.

Salut Haal1,
Merci pour le compliment, votre anglais n'est pas mauvais du tout.
J'adhore mon p'tit trou Normand

Cheers and Merci,
Steven

[billers]

Just a few other finds from the 6th Airborne area after a great dig with Steven! Cartridge cases came from German positions in thewood and mortar caps from Bitisih positions just a few hundred yards away.

Billers

(happiest when digging!)