Research Enterprises Ltd was a short lived Canadian company set up during World War Two to produce optics and electronics for the allied war effort. The company started producing war materiel in 1941 in Toronto and quickly became one of the region’s largest employers. By 1946 however the company was no more, like many firms set up by the Canadian government, once war was over REL was wound up.
As well as making radar equipment and sniper scopes, one of the most numerous products produced by the firm were binoculars for use by Canadian troops and allies. There were approximately 50,000 pairs of 6×30 binoculars produced by the company and it is a pair of these we are looking at tonight:
Unlike the Second World War British and Indian binoculars we have looked at on the blog before, this pair do not copy the WW1 British prismatic binocular design, but rather have a far more modern and ergonomic shape to the main body:
This is coated in a special non slip black paint finish that helps the user keep hold of the binoculars regardless of sweat or moisture. The reverse of the binoculars have two lugs braised onto the main barrels to allow a neck strap to be attached:
The focus of the lenses is adjusted on the individual eyepieces, which thread in and out to change the focal length. A graduated scale is engraved onto each eyepiece:
The top of each barrel is engraved, the left hand one has the /|\ mark and the power of the binoculars themselves:
The letters CBG53GA are a Canadian Army stores code and the GA indicates that this pair were originally issued with a case. The right hand side indicates that REL produced this set in 1943 in Canada and gives details of the settings of the reticules inside the lenses:
The quality of these binoculars is excellent and I can imagine them being a popular choice amongst British officers as well as with the Canadians. When manufactured, the binoculars were tested by spraying with water and being dropped six feet into sand. A number of cases can be found for the binoculars. As well as fitting in the standard 37 pattern binocular case, a rexine-type case is also found with these optics, in both a black and a very dark green colour.
It is worth reminding ourselves of the description from the 37 pattern webbing manual:
Early Canadian basic pouches had the same 3/4″ wide strap, but seem to have swapped over to the wider pattern in around 1941. Despite these pouches late date of manufacture, the underside of the lid still retains three loops to hold Ballistite cartridges for grenade launchers:
The second major difference is the top brass buckle on each pouch, which is of a completely different design to that used in other parts of the Empire:
The rear of the pouch has a pair of ‘C’ hooks:
This pouch is particularly well made, as is typical of Canadian manufacture. This pair was made in 1943 by Zephyr Loom and Textile:
The Canadian acceptance mark of a /|\ inside a ‘C’ is stamped on the underside of each pouch lid:
Like much Canadian webbing found today, this pair of pouches is in almost unissued condition and is another great addition to my little set. I find collecting up the Empire variants of 37 pattern and the various pack fillers to be great fun and hopefully I can continue to fill out my collection.
The Hi Power is a 9mm automatic that can hold 13 rounds in its double stack magazine. The magazine is released by a button on the grip, a spring pushing the magazine down and out ready for reloading:
This pistol was designed as a military handgun from the start and so features a prominent lanyard loop:
As a Chinese contract Hi Power there are a number of distinctive features to this weapon. Firstly the rear sight is an adjustable tangent sight out to 500 yards (!):
Quite how it was expected to hit anything at this range with a 9mm round is beyond me, but a slot was fitted to the rear to allow a shoulder stock to be fitted:
This was a popular feature for the Chinese who had first started using shoulder stocked pistols during the Warlord era when broom-handled Mausers were imported into the country in huge quantities with shoulder stocks to circumvent international embargos on long arms. By the Second World War most other nations had decided shoulder stocks and long range adjustable sights on a pistol were a waste of time, however they remained the preferred choice of the Chinese.
The opposite side of the pistol has the serial number on both the slide and the barrel:
The CH indicates that this pistol was produced for China and it was manufactured in August 1945. Having acquired this pistol several years ago, this example still strips down into its component parts, although the deactivation process is very obvious with the large hole cut in the breach!
Despite being made for a Chinese contract, I doubt this pistol ever made it to China. The contract was cancelled before it was delivered (mainly because the Chinese nationalists seemed to be more interested in killing Chinese communists rather than the Japanese) and the stock of pistols was absorbed into the Canadian Army’s inventory. This example has never been upgraded or modified post war and so today is a rare piece.
The RCAF badge is a blue transfer that has been added before glazing:
The egg cup has two ends. The conventional way up has a particularly large holder for an egg, the size of which becomes very obvious when a standard chicken’s egg is placed inside:
This is clearly far too large and was probably designed for either duck or goose eggs. Turning the egg cup upside down however gives us a much more standard size cup that holds an egg in the usual fashion:
This design seems to have been popular in the 1930s and it suggests that the eating of different types of eggs was much more prevalent than it is today where most people typically only eat hen’s eggs. The other theory is that the large space is used to keep a second egg warm whilst eating a first. Once that egg is finished, just swap the two over and you have your second boiled egg still nice and warm.
It is useful to compare this design with that produced in Britain (see 
Like the British design, a pair of male studs is provided to cater for both full and empty pouches. The third major difference is harder to spot, but the British design had an internal divider to separate the two Lee Enfield chargers. The Canadian design does not, just having a single, large, open pocket:
The rear of the carrier is broadly similar to the British version, with a pair of ‘C’ hooks to attach it to the waist belt and the brace attachment sewn above to allow the shoulder braces to fasten on:
This example is stamped ‘ZL&T Ltd 1940’ on the rear:
This indicates it was manufactured by Zephyr Loom and Textile Ltd, one of the two largest manufacturers of accoutrements in Canada.
This tin is painted in olive green and stencilled on the top “Bulbs”:
The lid is hinged and opens up to give access to the light bulbs within:
A cardboard tray was slotted inside to hold the bulbs secure and it appears that this tin originally held three bulbs, a piece of tissue paper being scrunched up over the top to protect the glass from knocks. My tin is missing the cardboard insert, but this is what would originally have been in the tin:
The round corners of the tin indicate that my one is of Canadian manufacture (British examples having square corners). These would have been carried on Canadian CMP trucks, such as the leading vehicle here:
The soup bowl is made of white china, with a green band around the interior. The regiment’s cap badge is positioned in the centre of the inside of the bowl:
This is transfer printed and has a King’s crown indicating the bowl dates form before 1952. The current version of the badge is identical but with a Queen’s Crown:
There are no maker’s marks on the underside of the bowl:
But there is some beige decoration on the outside and on each handle:
This bowl was purchased in the UK and by according to the seller had not been purchased outside this country. This then most likely dates it to the regiment’s service during World War Two. During the Second World War, the regiment was first stationed in Woodstock, New Brunswick and then Sussex, New Brunswick. When it shipped overseas, it was initially stationed in Liverpool, after that it moved to Scotland near the castle of the Duke of Argyll.
It helped clear the coast of France in late August and early September 1944, then it advanced into the Netherlands, taking part in the Battle of the Scheldt. It fought in Breskens Pocket in flooded fields and harsh conditions. After the Scheldt, it moved onto the rest of the Netherlands, fighting near the Bergsche Maas River at Kapelsche Veer.