Weekend Finds 2017

**garys39** · 11-05-2017, 02:24 PM

Saturday morning farm sale, pouring with rain, but luckily these farmer types aren't put off by a little rain. Interesting items were a goose neck flare (right of picture), stereoscope bar parallax (item in box, used for viewing aerial photos), a small lamp on a rough steel bracket, which I think is something to do with aircraft, and a nice piece of trench art for "Aveluy Wood 1914-1919", which was fought over during the battle of the Somme, seller took my details as he has some more in one of his sheds !
Also just had a call from my friend in Normandy, telling me to expect a visit from him this Thursday

**MAP** · 11-05-2017, 03:31 PM

Nice bunch of items. LOVE the trench art piece.

Are those finger saws?

**garys39** · 11-05-2017, 09:04 PM

Hi, the saws are WW2 British engineers hand saws, which use handles like this when assembled, I also have earlier WW1 dated versions as well.

**rra227** · 11-06-2017, 12:23 AM

Nice. Rich A. in Pa.

**garys39** · 11-09-2017, 05:02 PM

Delivery today from the barns of Normandy, usual 2cm boxes, a M1 Anti Tank Mine box, a pair of British motorcycle pannier bags, M1 Garand bayonet, the end of a 200lt fuel drum (it will make a good wall hanger), a British armoured car first aid box, 2x large shell cases which are British 3.7" anti aircraft, one of the 2cm boxes has some interesting shrapnel damage. If only these things could talk !

**rra227** · 11-09-2017, 11:11 PM

Nice pile. Rich A. in Pa.

**garys39** · 11-12-2017, 09:10 PM

No sales this weekend, I spent 3x days in Wallingford Town Hall (UK), for a display/exhibition on the town war memorial. Today Sunday, a family friend walked in for me, with what I thought was a sleeveless leather jerkin, but turned out to have sleeves on it. I presumed the sleeves were later additions, but on closer examination they appear to be period, not only is there faint camouflage markings to the body but also on the sleeves. No label is visable but you can see where one has been removed.
First a few photos of the display and some of the remembrance service and RAF flypast there this morning.

**garys39** · 11-12-2017, 09:22 PM

Having had a quick look on the web, I have found a photo of a WW2 Canadian film corespondent wearing the same type of jerkin, with the following photo description of the man in the photo.
Lieutenant H. Gordon Aikman of the CFPU, Vught, The Netherlands, February 1945. He is wearing early Battle Dress (BD) Serge with a leather jacket of unknown origin (I suspect Air Force or civilian?) and is wearing a Holster, webbing, No.2, Mk.2 for a Browning pistol.
The camera flash has bleached out the camo pattern some what.

**garys39** · 11-18-2017, 01:01 PM

We're getting towards the end of the carboot season and this morning, although dry, was cold and made colder by a northerly wind. Even so sellers turned out and the following great items were picked up, WD marked medical kit (unsure of it's age ?), trench art letter opener (marked Steenstraat/Passeur), also from the same seller/house clearance was a "housewife" with the number "18321074" inside it and 2x CC41 home front utility blankets, these also came from the same clearance.