Dragon Posted 24 November , 2005 Share Posted 24 November , 2005 (edited) I actually meant post, as in mail, stamps, etc! I think it's probably too dull and wet to go out into the garden now and find a plant, but I'll go and look as soon as possible. Then I'll take its photo and put it on your thread! Has the smell impregnated the fabric? Some oils retain their scent almost indefinately. But if you smell eucalyptus, you'll have an idea. (I edited the previous post to add another thought.) Gwyn I found my myrtle, cut sprigs to match your photo and I'll put a picture on the thread later today! Now my fingers smell fragrant. Edited 24 November , 2005 by Dragon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egbert Posted 24 November , 2005 Author Share Posted 24 November , 2005 Just a retrospect: also by sheer accident I found in an old album a picture of my father, dated 1 May 1916 with the baby shoes shown early in this thread!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunboat Posted 24 November , 2005 Share Posted 24 November , 2005 Egbert You have done it again. I am yet again on the verge of tears. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest billp Posted 24 November , 2005 Share Posted 24 November , 2005 The bullet looks quite sophisticated (therefore expensive) to be for the mass production killing ably demonstrated at the time. I would forward the theory that it is a specialist sniper round. If your Grandfather looked like an officer through a sniper scope, then he would be a prime target. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zooloo Posted 24 November , 2005 Share Posted 24 November , 2005 There is more than one myrtle... There is a native European species although what that is I do not know. Others are from Asia and Australia or something. zoo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egbert Posted 24 November , 2005 Author Share Posted 24 November , 2005 Egbert, Re the bullet - have you done perhaps an obvious check, and measured the bullet's diameter (the copper jacket)? I realise it is a bit distorted but I hope you can estimate its original circumference and measure the diameter. If .303 ins then you know where to look! Probably an unscientific check, as the main rifle calibres of the various protagonists rifles were not that far apart in sizes? If the inner core is indeed part of this round, then of course there is still some missing, as it is only part of the overall length. That would mean some further filling would have been present in the original bullet. So, a pointer - what ammo had a copper jacket and more than one section to its core? I think there were bullets like that. It seems the jacket was not totally enclosing the core, and was slightly open at the blunt (rear) end. It does not appear to be 'boat-tailed' but the distortion may have altered its shape. These I think are some pointers to its heritage. Ian <{POST_SNAPBACK}> The bullet looks quite sophisticated (therefore expensive) to be for the mass production killing ably demonstrated at the time. I would forward the theory that it is a specialist sniper round. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I try to press on with the identification with a set of new pictures, fresh from the garden and courtesy of egbert's own .308 Remington which I took for comparison reasons: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egbert Posted 24 November , 2005 Author Share Posted 24 November , 2005 ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egbert Posted 24 November , 2005 Author Share Posted 24 November , 2005 ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egbert Posted 24 November , 2005 Author Share Posted 24 November , 2005 it could very well be a .308 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragon Posted 24 November , 2005 Share Posted 24 November , 2005 (edited) This is my fresh myrtle, Egbert. The longest stem shown is 10 cm. I've added a close up, though I'm sorry it lacks sharpness. Gwyn Edited 24 November , 2005 by Dragon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egbert Posted 24 November , 2005 Author Share Posted 24 November , 2005 Thanx Gwyn!!! Ian do you see the color? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J T Gray Posted 25 November , 2005 Share Posted 25 November , 2005 Egbert, Is that bullet silvery in colour with green corrosion on it? I THINK - I am no expert - that either the Vickers or the Lewis gun fired nickel-jacketed ammunition which would be dull silver in colour (and nickel's corrosion products tend to be green). Does anyone have a picture of a brass jacketed round fired from a Lee-Enfield by comparison? Asking a lot I know but again I THINK that the MG requiring the nickel-jacketed rounds was rifled in the opposite direction to the Lee-Enfield. This is, of course, assuming that it is a British bullet! There are other possibilities... Oh, and assuming that it's true for WW1 bullets as well because I'm fairly certain I learnt it about WW2 ammunition. Adrian (I'm getting carried away here - it's the detective instinct. I love to try to work out what happened from bits! And I'm deeply jealous of your treasure trove, however much tragedy is hiding in it.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the gunners dream Posted 25 November , 2005 Share Posted 25 November , 2005 Egbert, I'm no ballistics expert either, but it is very similar in size to a .303 round and isn't a .308 just another version of the same kind of calibre? Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egbert Posted 25 November , 2005 Author Share Posted 25 November , 2005 Is that bullet silvery in colour with green corrosion on it? I THINK - I am no expert - that either the Vickers or the Lewis gun fired nickel-jacketed ammunition which would be dull silver in colour (and nickel's corrosion products tend to be green). Does anyone have a picture of a brass jacketed round fired from a Lee-Enfield by comparison? Asking a lot I know but again I THINK that the MG requiring the nickel-jacketed rounds was rifled in the opposite direction to the Lee-Enfield. Adrian <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Adrian I tend to say the "outer case" is copperish/brass, for sure no silverish stuff like zinq or so Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egbert Posted 25 November , 2005 Author Share Posted 25 November , 2005 (edited) Here is the marvelous result what Ian Turner could do with his coloring SW; it is a resurrected piece of history Edited 26 Nov 2005: this is Ian's latest and corrected colored version Edited 28 May , 2007 by Chris_Baker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egbert Posted 25 November , 2005 Author Share Posted 25 November , 2005 Another pocket watch "Remontoir" not functional Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egbert Posted 25 November , 2005 Author Share Posted 25 November , 2005 back Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egbert Posted 25 November , 2005 Author Share Posted 25 November , 2005 maybe this watch was "borrowed" from a Poilu? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egbert Posted 25 November , 2005 Author Share Posted 25 November , 2005 .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marina Posted 25 November , 2005 Share Posted 25 November , 2005 This beautiful watch reminds me of how much i hate digital ones. Lovely. Marina Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Mackenzie Posted 25 November , 2005 Share Posted 25 November , 2005 The Remontoir watch is explained here. Makes it less likely he got the watch from a Frenchman. Neil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malte Znaniecki Posted 25 November , 2005 Share Posted 25 November , 2005 Quite interesting, this site ! Thanks for the link, Neil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egbert Posted 25 November , 2005 Author Share Posted 25 November , 2005 thanx for the link Neil; so no "souvenir"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
susanhemmings Posted 26 November , 2005 Share Posted 26 November , 2005 The picture is beautiful egbert - well done Ian again. Susan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyE Posted 26 November , 2005 Share Posted 26 November , 2005 I am joining this thread rather late in the day as I received a message about the bullet. It is very easy to identify. It is a British .303 Mark VII ball round. The Mark VII was a composite bullet, consisting of a cupro-nickel jacket ( or envelope in British terminology), a lead core to the rear of the bullet and an aluminium point filler. Other materials were also used for the point filler, including compressed paper and fibre to conserve aluminium, but Al was still most common. The point (!) of this was to place the centre of gravity of the bullet to the rear to improve in flight stability and accuracy. A secondary effect was that when the bullet struck, the heavier rear portion "overtook" the lighter front part and the bullet tumbled. It was also very common for the bullet to break into two at around the join of the two cores. What you have is the aluminium point filler and the empty envelope without the lead core. Quite how this occurred I do not know. It may have been in a fire and the lead melted. The Mark VII was introduced in 1910 and continued in service to the end of the life of the .303 in the mid 1960s. It was not a special sniper or any other type of round, simply the standard issue cartridge. As an aside, the diameter of a fired .303 would usually be about .303-.308 depending on the degree of barrel wear. The .308 cartridge (or 7.62 x 51mm NATO) round was not developed until the early 1950s. I can post drawings of the round if anyone is interested. Regards Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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