harley1962 Posted 25 August , 2020 Share Posted 25 August , 2020 I found this whilstfield walking at Carnoy last week has anyone any ideas what it is. After a clean a A stamped on the back can be seen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4thGordons Posted 25 August , 2020 Share Posted 25 August , 2020 Looks like a belt plate/buckle where the hook (at the "top" of the second picture) would hook into a metal loop on the other end of the belt. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ServiceRumDiluted Posted 25 August , 2020 Share Posted 25 August , 2020 French belt buckle would be my suggestion. A quick image google shows similar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harley1962 Posted 25 August , 2020 Author Share Posted 25 August , 2020 Thanks for your replies, I did think it was a belt buckle but didn't think to look at French ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chasemuseum Posted 26 August , 2020 Share Posted 26 August , 2020 Looks like the buckle from the 1893 set le Ceinturon ("belt"): model 1873, blackened leather; flat brass buckle. Hard to tell from your photo but by the lack of severe corrosion it appears to be brass rather than steel. Cheers Ross Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trenchtrotter Posted 26 August , 2020 Share Posted 26 August , 2020 Yep as above definitely a french belt buckle. Made of brass. Sometimes they are unit marked and dated. I found one at serve with a 1878 date but no unit mark. Nice find. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harley1962 Posted 27 August , 2020 Author Share Posted 27 August , 2020 19 hours ago, trenchtrotter said: Yep as above definitely a french belt buckle. Made of brass. Sometimes they are unit marked and dated. I found one at serve with a 1878 date but no unit mark. Nice find. Thanks trenchtrotter How would you recommend cleaning? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sepoy Posted 27 August , 2020 Share Posted 27 August , 2020 Personally, I would leave it "as found". Sepoy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chasemuseum Posted 27 August , 2020 Share Posted 27 August , 2020 These are the pre-war other ranks belt buckle for the combat equipment, and were originally polished bright. Fairly quickly the French decided that a bright buckle in 1914 was not a good idea and they were effectively replaced in 1915 by a new pattern belt with a two prong steel roller buckle, which they continued to use into the 1950s. As a wartime example, particularly a "dug" example, I would leave it largely as is and take advantage of the natural patina. I may wash it in warm water and detergent and rub the front with the ball of my thumb to be sure that all dirt is removed and to rub away some of the green copper oxides off the surface but I would be very careful not to damage the deep brown patina. It's a good honest example that speaks it's history, - the changes in military styles across the c19 from 1873 to 1915 and part of how the French Army entered 1914 looking more like an army of the 1871 war, with tactics and thinking to match. Cheers Ross Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trenchtrotter Posted 27 August , 2020 Share Posted 27 August , 2020 I would wash soil off and then leave and it will keep its character. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peregrinvs Posted 27 August , 2020 Share Posted 27 August , 2020 7 hours ago, harley1962 said: How would you recommend cleaning? It is very difficult to sympathetically clean ground dug brass. If you dip it in acid, it will go a dull pink colour as under the surface oxidation will be a layer of copper due to the separation of the zinc. To get it back to bare brass, you would have to use very harsh abrasives to grind off the layer of copper - at which point it would have lost most of its character. So as suggested above, don’t do anymore than give it a wash in soapy water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikB Posted 27 August , 2020 Share Posted 27 August , 2020 (edited) Oh blimey! You didn't mention its size! I was wondering about a firebox door on a field kitchen or artillery munitions shunter... Edited 27 August , 2020 by MikB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chasemuseum Posted 28 August , 2020 Share Posted 28 August , 2020 It should be about 2 1/2 inches square. I cannot remember the exact size. I have not handled our example for a couple of years and it is currently in off-site storage in anticipation of a move, so I cannot access it. Cheers Ross This photo is from an excellent small booklet on WW1 uniforms - "Infantry uniforms of the First World War" published by Europa. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harley1962 Posted 28 August , 2020 Author Share Posted 28 August , 2020 9 hours ago, Chasemuseum said: It should be about 2 1/2 inches square. I cannot remember the exact size. I have not handled our example for a couple of years and it is currently in off-site storage in anticipation of a move, so I cannot access it. Cheers Ross This photo is from an excellent small booklet on WW1 uniforms - "Infantry uniforms of the First World War" published by Europa. Hi Chasemuseum, yes you are correct with the size. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harley1962 Posted 28 August , 2020 Author Share Posted 28 August , 2020 I will have just washed it with soap and water and will leave as is. Thanks to linesman for the first time i was able to find the area's my great uncle would have been in and lost in and along the way found a pair of 3 jaw wire cutters sadly broken on one arm probably by plough as a clean cut but all the same a nice find and given the location a sentimental one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickster Posted 13 November , 2020 Share Posted 13 November , 2020 On 27/08/2020 at 19:45, MikB said: Oh blimey! You didn't mention its size! I was wondering about a firebox door on a field kitchen or artillery munitions shunter... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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