General Service Shovel made by Brades Co.General Service Shovel made by Brades Co.General Service Shovel made by Brades Co.

Here is a GS shovel (some of you would call it a spade, though) I have just ordered - the photos are the seller's, hence their rather poor quality.

The shovel was probably made by BRADES CO. and bears a broad arrow, so it definitely saw service in the British army, but when? That is the question as there is no date to be seen on the metal.

I have done some research and could read that, whereas WW1 GS shovels had three rivets, WW2 ones had only one. The problem is that this one obviously has two. To make things a tad bit more complicated, I have found on the Internet the pictures of two other GS shovels, one dated 1943 and the other dated 1954, both of them with two rivets!...

Could anybody on here tell me whether there is a chance mine was made sometime during the Second World War?

Regards,

Didier