ww1 binoculars

[Skipman]

Any thoughts on these?

Are they standard army issue. They seem very small, about 6 inches high.

Mike

[MikB]

Not standard issue, but civilian Galilean glasses accepted for military service as 'Specials' under emergency provisions, probably in late 1914 - 15. These are small and unlikely to exceed 3x magnification - they're really opera glasses in a field finish. If there's an 'S' marking I can't quite read it - but I'd guess it would be S.4 - second-grade Galilean binoculars. Galileans have good light-transmission and good tolerance of myopia and other eyesight defects, but their field of view is always poor and their magnification weak.

Regards,

MikB

[Ian Riley]

I would assume that the appeal (by FM Lord Roberts, I think) for the general public to donate binoculars (any binoculars/field glasses) at the beginning of the war must have resulted in a huge variety in the types of instrument being used in the Army. Is it likely they would have been marked with the broad arrow to show that they had been taken into service?<BR><BR>Ian <BR><BR>PS I note MikB's comment in <A href="http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=153103">this thread</A> <A href="http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=153103">http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=153103</A><BR><BR>Sorry, the edit facility has gone pear-shaped on me.

Edited 7 April , 2011 by Ian Riley

[Guest]

Thanks Mike, and Ian. That is excellent information.

Mike

[MBrockway]

On 07/04/2011 at 22:21, Ian Riley said:

I would assume that the appeal (by FM Lord Roberts, I think) for the general public to donate binoculars (any binoculars/field glasses) at the beginning of the war must have resulted in a huge variety in the types of instrument being used in the Army. Is it likely they would have been marked with the broad arrow to show that they had been taken into service?<BR><BR>Ian <BR><BR>PS I note MikB's comment in <A href="http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=153103">this thread</A> <A href="http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=153103">http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=153103</A><BR><BR>Sorry, the edit facility has gone pear-shaped on me.

 

It seems the items provided under Lord Roberts's scheme were marked with letters N.S.L. over a number and no broad arrow.

 

[Edit: I have exceeded myself in that last point - the DRO does NOT say these items had no broad arrow, and info provided elsewhere by MikB makes it clear they probably were marked up with broad arrow and a grading/classification code additional to the numbering used by the NSL scheme]

 

See 1st Div DRO 379, 16 Feb 1919 in this topic here ...

Mark

Edited 25 November , 2017 by MBrockway

[Guest]

  Mark- As  Bobs was  a front-runner in the National Service League, would it be safe to assume that was what NSL stands for?

Edited 25 November , 2017 by Guest
spelllin as ussul

[MBrockway]

Good spot and confirmed by your gobbet from The Spectator Xmas1918, quoted in the other post, which also corroborates much of the other info in the DRO.

 

 

 

[MBrockway]

Some more background from contemporary sources in this new topic from GUEST:

Excellent stuff.

 

Mark