RRPG dig - British Army Dump - 10th September 2011

[Paul D]

HI Vegar, there were hundreds of these Besa 7.92mm tank MG ammo boxes on site, but I had the pleasure of digging this one for myself. It is still sealed up, but all we found contained leather strips. I will show more pics once it is cleaned up and opened.

Cheers, Ade.

Nice find Ade , with luck like that we'll have to get you to Narva !!!

[Adrian Stevenson]

Hi Eddy, next time I go (I am sure I will go back there) I will select a few for you. There were hundreds as I mentioned, but most were poor condition.

Hi Paul, I was pleased to dig this one out. As I mentioned, all we found were full of brown leather strips. But despite being in the boxes most of the leather was not in great condition. As usual, those found in wetter ground had preserved the leather better. My guess is that the leather was used for repairing ammo box handles etc?

Cheers, Ade.

[dangermouse]

Hi all, I spent a few hours cleaning a couple of bits today. Yes I did take photos (but will have to upload them later as cant find my cable right now). I thought I would see what magic I could work on a Lee Enfield bolt, after a short while I had removed most of the surface rust and managed to get the locking bit of the bolt to move so it pretty much works, well apart from being a relic! Then I got my mess tin up to the nice shiny condition I like and found a lovely 1945 date and manufactures stamp Also cleaned up the dog-tag I found, details as follows - 8 digit serial number (not going to get it now, on photos that will follow) CF stamped in the middle (no its not CE for church of England) and the where the name should be it only reads CFF? No idea!

Mouse.

[eddy8men]

thanks adrian i would be very grateful.

eddy

[dangermouse]

so when is the next dig

[davejb]

ssshhhhh dont tell him

[Steve T]

eddy

I have 4 7.92 BESA ammo boxes in my garage, recovered from the same site. They're aren't exactly in mint condition but you're certainly welcome to a couple if you need them

Cheers

Steve T

PS Dangermouse..........be patient ! Jeez ! (And don't tell Ade)

[Steve T]

Ok. Here are some pictures of the first batch of items to be cleaned. I've got about another 5 or 6 batches to clean yet so stay tuned !!!

Group shot first.



Three buckles and a brass cap off something, WD arrow marked. The bigger buckles look like WW1 era. Anyone confirm ?



Two oiler bottles, one appears to be very badly corroded brass, the other bakelite. The item next to these appears to be the remains of a Vickers item out of the spares kit. The top two items show just what a small difference in soil conditions can make. The rusty one was found in damp, clay soil. The almost perfect one was found in the same soil BUT it was protected by items around it that kept it relatively dry. Both are gas regulators from a Bren.



Lee-Enfield fore-sight protector, rear sight protector, Sten gun barrel shroud and a PIAT trigger.



The two items on the right are trigger gauges. The two on the left I thought were also trigger gauges that had been chopped up. However, they carry no graduations or evidence of a spring mechanism. What are they ?



Browning 1917 starter tabs



One of my most exciting finds of the day and a little BEAUTY that is going to take pride of place in my collection. A Vickers MG muzzle (recoil) booster. A great find






This item got ID'd by Ade whilst on site. It's the adjustment wheel for the elevation mechanism on a Vickers tripod.



.....and here is one in place Note the regular grooves and dots in the wheel.



Three really nice LE No.1 Mk III barrel end pieces. These are in superb condition, mainly because the soil I found them in had a high sand content making it free draining. Even being in the ground 65+ years won't rust them too much if the ground is dry like this.



Another view of the ends, just in case you're in any doubt about them



And lastly, another superb find(s) on the day, and right at the last minute as well.

Lee-Enfield bolts. All appear to have the firing pin in place and some are in remarkable condition. Totally unusable of course, but fantastic finds and great display pieces.



More to come soon !

Steve T

[LUCKYSTRIKE]

Hi Steve,
Great finds and great pictures, I dont know where you find the time to clean so many so soon and then photograph and ID them and then post on here. Whilst not forgetting the ongoing and long running sparing match with Dave
Good work I think we can all say the finds were exceptional again.
Cheers.
LUCKYSTRIKE

[eddy8men]

steve
thank you for your generous offer