While sorting through one of my dad's old boxes of odd useful screws, curved nails, twisted brackets, and half worn strips of sandpaper, I came across this curious clip... Its about 60mm high, 36mm wide, with a plate thickness of about 1.2mm. It feels like mild steel, but its non-magnetic. The inner section has been welded into a loop using sheet metal with a thickness of about 0.4mm. It is decorated with the Essex Regiment badge. In the base is a centrally located threaded hole about 5mm in diameter. There is a 17mm diameter mark which would indicate that this thing was probably attached to some kind of rod. So it looks like this thing would have been carried around with something in it, held aloft to attract attention. I don't think it would work with letters or music, so maybe a sign? But I am certain that one of you smart lads & lassies will be able to identify it for me.
Well I cannot identify it, but I really like the title of your thread, not come across one like that one before. Lesley
The National Army Museum search /inventory /objects has some photos of objects and many descriptions of holdings without photographs but, alas, "refine search" does not include "springy clippy". Online Collection | National Army Museum, London 1. Enter your search terms Description Battle, Operation or Event (eg Isandlwana, Market Garden, Peterloo Massacre) War or Campaign (eg World War Two, 2nd Afghan War, Gulf War) Person (eg Oliver Cromwell, Montgomery, Florence Nightingale) Regiment or Unit (eg 14th Hussars, 7th Armoured Division, 30 Corps, Zulu Army) Place Production Name (eg Roger Fenton) Theme or Concept (eg tank, remembrance, sniping) 2. Select the types of object to include in your search: Archives Archives (general) Film & Videos Maps Photographs Sound Recordings Art Ceramics Crafts Drawings & Watercolours Miniatures Oil Paintings Prints Sculpture Silver Badges, Medals & Uniforms Badges Medals Uniforms Uniform Equipment Equipment Armour Equipment (general) Flags & Colours Furniture Horse Furniture Medical Equipment Models Musical Instruments Scientific Instruments Weapons Ammunition Edged Weapons Firearms Polearms & Other Weapons Vehicles & Artillery Artillery Vehicles (Tip: Click on a header to select or deselect all sub-categories)
Thanks guys. The vesta suggestion makes the most sense, with Clive's pick-axe association running a very close second. ...And there is clearly a bug in the National Army Museums software if it doesn't recognise well known search terms like "springy" & "clippy". I knew next to nothing about standing Vestas this time yesterday, and still can't believe anyone would bother making one. But I suspect my example was either made by my dad in a Battery workshop, or given to him by another gunner. It raises a lot more little questions; How was it used? was it left on the table in the sergeants mess for anyone to use, or did everyone have their own? Maybe matches were free issue? Did the men get a fag ration, or am I thinking of prison? Were gunners allowed to keep dangerous phosphorous matches in their pockets? Or were they only allowed when off-duty, inside the mess or other huts, in a standing vesta? I realise that smoking fags was hugely important to WW2 servicemen, so most would have been continually handling fags & matches ...but was there no Health and Safety?
IWM has a matchbox holder and a pencil clip which is magnetised but no coconut. It's a mystery ! matchbox holder, British
The brass match box holder was to prevent your match box from getting crushed if you had to dive to the ground under fire. They were often made behind the lines as a trench art souvenier. The vesta holder would have sat on a table for communal use in a a public house or a mess or, perhaps in the case of the Essex Regiment one, used at home by an old soldier. The Vesta holder was a later version of the public house match striker which would have sat on the bar. Vesta holders were very common as nearly everyone had coal fires to light and nearly everyone smoked cigarrettes or a pipe.
