Some pieces that were missing from our British collection

[Flavio]

Today guys we really went there, a few pieces but very significant A round Austrian enamelled saucer. Our first British saucer hit by a splinter that deformed its handle. A beautiful bottle of sauce with what remains of its unfortunately illegible paper label. And finally, a rare (at least here in Italy) camp stove I always hope that Google translator does its job well

Edited 27 April by Flavio

[Chasemuseum]

A nice selection. Amazed that any of a paper label remains after 100 years in the ground

[Flavio]

Thank you very much @Chasemuseum... Yes, we too were astonished when we saw the remains of the label on the bottle considering that it was immersed in the mud under a dump of cans under a front line trench. Unfortunately after drying in the open air it faded a bit, next time I will try to somehow fix the state it is in if I find more

[FROGSMILE]

17 hours ago, Flavio said:

Thank you very much @Chasemuseum... Yes, we too were astonished when we saw the remains of the label on the bottle considering that it was immersed in the mud under a dump of cans under a front line trench. Unfortunately after drying in the open air it faded a bit, next time I will try to somehow fix the state it is in if I find more

This is how the bottle looked originally Flavio.

The metal objects look like the lid to the issue mess tin to me.  And the circular one is for men on mounted duty I think (cavalry, etc.).

NB.  HP Sauce was a very iconic British style condiment at that time and in WW2 too, but during the last 40-years it has lost ground to American sauces like Heinz Ketchup, and few young people consume HP now.

Edited 28 April by FROGSMILE

[Flavio]

Hi @FROGSMILE..the saucer is actually for the British bowl. The round plate is that of the Austrian army which went on the truncated cone plate Tomorrow I will take a better photo of this piece which will be more explanatory

Many thanks for your research on the bottle

[FROGSMILE]

2 minutes ago, Flavio said:

Hi @FROGSMILE..the saucer is actually for the British bowl. The round plate is that of the Austrian army which went on the truncated cone plate Tomorrow I will take a better photo of this piece which will be more explanatory

Many thanks for your research on the bottle

It is my pleasure to contribute a little Flávio.

Thank you for explaining so courteously my misunderstanding of the metal objects, and also for sharing your finds with us in the forum.

Edited 27 April by FROGSMILE

[MrEd]

Those ‘Tommy’ trench cookers remained essentially unchanged until the late 1960’s, I have a single ww2 dated version and a whole box dated 1967 and the differences is only slight in labelling. I guess if it wasn’t broken, don’t fix it. I wonder when they were first introduced?

[Flavio]

12 minutes ago, MrEd said:

Those ‘Tommy’ trench cookers remained essentially unchanged until the late 1960’s, I have a single ww2 dated version and a whole box dated 1967 and the differences is only slight in labelling. I guess if it wasn’t broken, don’t fix it. I wonder when they were first introduced?

Hi, so the stove is not in the best condition, it will necessarily remain in this position obviously, opening it would mean destroying it, at the moment it has only been washed under water with an old toothbrush, then I will take a light bath in oxalic acid to remove any a little rust and then I will consolidate with a specific resin product

[Allan1892]

15 hours ago, FROGSMILE said:

HP Sauce was a very iconic British style condiment at that time and in WW2 too, but during the last 40-years it has lost ground to American sauce

Of course it is well known that a British Prime Minister had a liking for HP ........

'HP was once dubbed "Wilson's gravy" after the wife of Harold Wilson, the former Labour Prime Minister, revealed that he believed no meal was complete unless it was flooded with the sauce'.

[FROGSMILE]

1 hour ago, Allan1892 said:

Of course it is well known that a British Prime Minister had a liking for HP ........

'HP was once dubbed "Wilson's gravy" after the wife of Harold Wilson, the former Labour Prime Minister, revealed that he believed no meal was complete unless it was flooded with the sauce'.

That sounds like the sneering of some Tory toffs upon hearing of it.

[Flavio]

How many things can be learned from a few objects that have the weight of more than 100 years behind them.

We search mostly in areas that were frequented by the Austrian, Italian and French armies, they are easier in some respects because there are historical texts and testimonies in abundance even if you then have to put what is told "into practice".

But everything concerning the presence and military actions relating to the English army in the short period of their stay on the Asiago plateau is much more difficult, few texts, few testimonies and above all an area difficult to interpret in the field.

Since 2013 we have ventured to slowly explore these places and it is an honor for us to make available to you what these places bring to light little by little

[Flavio]

Here is the Austrian truncated conical mess dish, it is not perfectly placed but with a little oxalic a good part of the surface rust should be removed

[JMB1943]

Flavio,

Yet another collection of nice pieces, especially the HP sauce bottle with a partial paper label.

Frogsmile showed an advertisement for HP sauce, which was for me a eureka moment.

I had never known the meaning of that abbreviation, H.P., but now from the label it seems that it probably is Houses of Parliament.

 My education continues……

Thanks for sharing the pieces that you and your son find.

Regards,

JMB