We are pleased to announce that our new book “British Empire Uniforms 1919-1939” will be released on July 15th 2019.
This book provides a unique insight into the uniforms and equipment used by British Empire forces between the two world wars. Including descriptions of deployments and incidents during the period, the book features detailed photographs of individual artefacts as well as accurate uniform reconstructions in full colour. The text and annotations give detailed descriptions and background on subjects such as khaki uniforms, webbing, water bottles, communications equipment and so on.
The artefacts and uniforms portrayed in the book are derived from the authors’ own collections, as well as those of fellow collectors, in order to provide comprehensive coverage of the uniforms, artefacts and equipment used by British Empire forces of the period.
Covering British deployments in China, India, the North West Frontier and Palestine, this book is an indispensable guide to the British Empire forces from the end of the First World War to the eve of the Second World War.
978-1-4456-8894-7 £14.99 Paperback
Available from all good bookshops and direct from: Amberley Publishing
http://www.amberley-books.com tel: +44 (0)1453 847800
As with the one reichsmark note we looked at 
The control of exchange rates and currency was tightly regulated by the allied authorities in an attempt to prevent inflation in Europe and to prevent allied soldiers from committing fraud by receiving their pay in one currency, then converting it into another at a favourable rate on the black market before paying it back into their accounts for a substantial profit.
The design has the same wide palm as the later design, but does not incorporate the non-slip bumps so grip would be necessarily poorer:
The same separate thumb is featured in this design, as is the optional index finger section to allow a rifle to be fired:
A piece of elastic sewn into the mitten helps draw it in at the wrist:
Unusually the liner of these kittens are manufactured in blue faux-fur pile, rather than the expected green or brown:
A label is sewn inside each mitten indicating the mark number, size, manufacturer and contract number:
Whilst this design is clearly not as advanced as the MK 3, they remain a serviceable and war pair of mittens that would have worked well in extreme low temperatures and I am now intrigued to find a MK 1 to complete the evolution of this garment…
Very unusually, this airgraph has survived with its original envelope intact:
The airgraph, after it had been printed back to a readable size was placed in this envelope before being posted to the recipient. When airgraphs were introduced, the Daily Mail explained how the new service would work:
The main picture has a selection of soldiers from the South East Asian command including American, Indian and Ghurka troops:
The sender was a Gunner Reginald Edmunds of the Dorset Regiment:
There seems to be an inordinate array of these airgraphs out there to collect, often illustrated and with personal messages which make them a fascinating topic for the militaria collector.
They were issued in a set with a case and anti-dimming kit:
The case is a small green carry case, secured by two quick release tabs on the front:
A pair of ‘c’ hooks on the rear allows it to be carried on a belt:
Inside the goggles rest with the lenses to the rear of the case:
A small pocket is provided at the front for the anti-dimming kit:
The case itself is lined with a soft white cloth to help protect the lenses of the goggles from scratches and a maker’s stamp for the case is printed here indicating the case dates from 1965:
A label with instructions for the goggles use is sewn into the lid of the case:
The goggles themselves have a distinctive angular design to give them greater peripheral vision than standard goggles:
Small ventilation holes are stamped into the top, bottom and sides of the goggles to help air flow into the lenses and preventing the eyepieces from fogging up as quickly as they might otherwise have done:
One side of the lenses have the word ‘top’ stamped on them to ensure the wearer puts them on correctly:
The size of the goggles over the bridge of the nose can be adjusted and a green elasticated head harness is provided to help keep them on the head:
A metal buckle on either side allows the tightness of the head harness to be adjusted:
Note also the faint date stamp indicating that these goggles were produced in 1965. These eye protectors started being trialled in 1949 and seem to have continued in service until at least the 1970s.
In design this exactly matches the description from the 37 pattern fitting instructions:
The scabbard is inserted and pushed through until the stud on the outside comes out between the two loops.
As with the other pieces of jungle green webbing we have looked at, the piece is very faded and the markings on the rear are very badly stamped and hard to read:
There were a number of webbing manufacturers in India, Bata and ‘KEF’ being two whilst ‘CA’ is often seen marked on webbing and is the mark of the Cawnpore Government Harness and Saddlery factory. This manufacturer was based in Cawnpore and was a government run equipment company dating back to the First World War. In addition to this factory, the company had branches at Calcutta and Cossipore, whilst yet more satellites were set up in Amritsar, Bombay and Madras when the threat of Japanese invasion was at its height.
This iron is huge, being over 12 inches long, and very heavy, easily weighing a couple of pounds. The tip is made of copper, to better retain heat, and is marked with a /|\ stamp and a date of 1946:
A second /|\ mark and number 83 is stamped on another face of the iron and is possible an inspector’s mark:
The copper tip is attached to an iron handle with a large pair of rivets:
And this in turn is firmly fixed to a wooden handle that protects the user’s hand from the extreme temperatures:
Soldering in the 1940s was a laborious process and as most of us are unfamiliar with the methods needed to heat up these old style soldering irons, I thought these instructions from a period handyman’s book would be instructive:
In the foreground can be seen a soldier keeping guard of the aircraft:
Behind can be seen a pair of aircraft:
These have been identified by a friend as being most likely BE2 aircraft. This was a single engined, two man crewed training aircraft introduced in 1912 and used throughout the First World War. It was initially used as a front-line reconnaissance aircraft and light bomber; modified as a single-seater it proved effective as a night fighter, destroying several German airships.
The white ensign flying beneath shows this airship belongs to the RNAS rather than the RFC. Britain never used airships to the same extent as Germany and its Zepplins, however they saw sterling service patrolling the channel and on anti-submarine patrols.