Another busy stock disc - this one is stamped on both sides. It was a battlefield pickup from the Somme. Can anyone decipher this one?
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Another busy stock disc - this one is stamped on both sides. It was a battlefield pickup from the Somme. Can anyone decipher this one?
17th City of London Battalion and 3rd Battalion Royal Welsh Fusileers.
Thanks, Mick. It comes from the Delville Wood - High Wood area. I shall now research the movements of those units on the Somme. Then maybe I can decide which way to mount it on an SMLE.
For interest, here is another picture from the same area.
Mick, is 17th City of London Battalion the same as the 17th Bn, London Regiment? They took High Wood and were exactly in the spot where the disc was found.
Yes Rob, offically they are (or were) known as the City of London Regiment, but in normal conversion they would have been referred to as the London Regiment.Quote:
Originally Posted by RobD
Great find! I love seeing real items attached to real history.
It all fits as the 47th (2nd London) Division is credited with taking High Wood. The cemetery opposite the wood bears the division's name. There is also a memorial archway to them in the nearby village of Martinpuich. Memorials to units involved both at High Wood & Martinpuich were opened at an official ceremony in 1925, though some of them have since been replaced.
ATB
Now an eithical question: would anyone object awfully if I put this disc onto a suitable SMLE? Not to enhance the provenance of the rifle, but in memoriam, as it were. I intend to put a disc of paper under the disc with the story on it.
Sounds good to me.Quote:
Originally Posted by RobD
The question for me would be - should I show the London Regiment or the Welsh Fusilier side :) The SMLE seems a perfect place to display the disk.