ww1 box/crate?

[D8a8v8e]

Picked up in Ypres, Belgium whilst on battlefield touring holiday.
Have tried to research the box and the letter/number stamps but to no avail.
Any help appreciated

[NickW]

WWI? Looks like one of those WWII US portable office desk or workshop trunks - You put it on its side and the lid comes down as the writing desk or work bench - there should be draws inside, but these are removable - seems to be a lot of these around in the North West UK, probably sold off or dumped from Burtonwood.

[D8a8v8e]

WWI? Looks like one of those WWII US portable office desk or workshop trunks - You put it on its side and the lid comes down as the writing desk or work bench - there should be draws inside, but these are removable - seems to be a lot of these around in the North West UK, probably sold off or dumped from Burtonwood.

Thanks Nick, ive put it on the ww2 part of the forum now, just had no idea what it was or what year ?
By the way, wheres Burtonwood and whats the connection?

[NickW]

Burtonwood was the biggest US air base in the UK during WWII - it was the main service and repair facility for the bombers and had huge warehouses of supplies right up to its closure in the 1960s. Local scrapyards and surplus dealers used to be full of stuff from the facility. I saw a couple of skips full of these when one of the warehouses was cleared before demolition and they still seem to turn up quite often - a friend was given one recently – but not in as good condition as yours externally but also without its interior fittings.

His is a workshop version, but I think yours is the "office" version - you have probably noted that the handles on the side seem the "wrong" way around - this is so the "lid" opened as the work surface.