I picked up another today, a Jack Johnson shell for Totnes.
A 'Jack Johnson' was the British nickname used to describe the impact of a heavy, black German 15-cm artillery shell. Jack Johnson (1878-1946) was the name of the popular U.S. (born in Texas) world heavyweight boxing champion who held the title from 1908-15. A not very pc nickname as Johnson was black, but that was then considered acceptable.
That's another great one Jerry !, I don't have one of these but do have two of the smaller artillery shells. A great reference book is shown in attached pic, long out of print (Publisher: Milestone Publications 16 Oct 1981) but you can still find copies, packed full of info on makers and models, the price guide not much use nowadays !!,
cheers,
John.
Sounds good John, I might have to do a search for it.
The place where I bought the shell had quite a lot of crested ware from another seller -it was an antiques center- though not military items (about a dozen pieces for £10), but the same seller as I bought the shell from had other WWI china pieces, about 3 or 4 mugs with end of war flags and dates 1914-1919, though all were in a poor condition, crazed and with hairline cracks. They also had a teapot from the start of the war, 1914 dated, with the motto united we stand and with the flags of the original 4 allies, Russia, France, Belgium and of course Great Britain. It is on my way home from work and after speaking to her indoors I will pop into tomorrow and pick up the rest of them, assuming they are still there.
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