Just got my MkIII Compass back from Trademark London

[newbieDAN]

Where can I buy Purified Kerosene in Australia?

[Peter Laidler]

Don't buy anything yet Newbie as I'm going to show you how to use something else that will be FAR more satisfactory than purified paraffine (which is an oil(?)) or alcohol. Just hold on, I'm getting geared up to do the article but getting hold of a few compasses, that don't just fall off trees, takes a bit of time, as does writing and taking pics etc etc..................

[Paul S.]

Peter,
Let me know if you stumble across any locking screws for a Mark II (mils) Prismatic will you?

The one on my old compass is stripped.

[nagamitsu]

Greetings, this is my first post and already I have some questions.

This compass came into my possession a while ago and I thought I would put it up here for members to comment on its pedigree and legitamacy of its current form and markings.

I apologise for the poor quality of the photos.

Overall shot of the compass.


Rear view of the compass markings


Close up of MILS stamped onto the lid lift.


Close up of the MILS face and bezel


Close up of the rear markings



Could this be a conversion done by some enterprising person after it was discharged from service or was it a legitimate conversion done by the REME ????

[Peter Laidler]

No, that's an original degrees compass that has been converted into MILS during the 60's and 70's. Accordingly, it has been re-engraved to reflect its new type and part number. If you are from Malaya, it was probably done at the big Infantry workshops at 13 Inf at Taiping then Batu in KL, or 2 Inf at Malacca or the Base Workshops in Singapore. I did loads of them

[nagamitsu]

No doubt I am from and currently in North Borneo, but the compass came to me by way of Ebay from te UK. Looks like its probably gone 1 full circle.

[Claven2]

Agreed, it's not unlike many compasses still being used in the commonwealth, a wartime MkIII updated to the M73 standard by converting it to mils and, if it didn;t originally have one, a cage guard added. Interesting that it has a mother of pearl card and what appears to be modern luminova illumination.

Too bad the rubber foot has been pried off, but replacements are around (in black). It also originally would have been painted in suncorite.

Peter: How's that article coming along?

[nagamitsu]

It also originally would have been painted in suncorite.

Hi, now that you mentioned it, I was told compasses with the black finish removed and polished up were usually presentation pieces for retiring officers. Any truth in that or just a case of urban myth ?

[Peter Laidler]

I don't know why you'd give a retiring Officer a compass. As a rule, most of them, like me, were issued with one when necessary but couldn't use it properly if they had one! It was usually the old Sergeants who used the maps and compasses.

My friend, Lt XXX was doing a bit of map reading on the bonnet of his land rover on Hohne Ranges. I mentioned that he'd be getting incorrect magnetic bearings to which he replied that it was alright as the bonnet was aluminium. It was, but the great 2.6 litre engine directly underneath was a block of iron!

It would be extremely difficult to use these things as or give them out as presentation pieces because they were always referred to as WOCS or War Office Controlled Stores and were absolutely accounted for by quantity and serial number. One missing or unaccounted for with sheaves of supporting paperwork meant that all hell broke loose. It didn't broke loose too often I can tell you. If you couldn't account for it after a thorough search - and I mean THGOROUGH search, then a military Board of Enquiry was convened and someone would be held to account

Among the highly classified similar stores were weapons, wrist watches, vehicles, binoculars, compasses and the stuff we called V and A for Valuable and attractive

[Claven2]

Peter is absolutely correct, here in Canada as well, liquid prismatic compasses generally do not go missing. If/when they do, the staff work to account for the missing item is unpleasant for all involved. Most squaddies view them as backup navigation items as well now in the age of portable GPS. That's today - 50+ years ago before computer tracking, I suspect many more walked off. Most of those we see nowadays on the civilian market were liberated before many of us were born. Also, I would not particularly want one of the original radium compasses in my home for any length of time unless it had been rebuilt and the radium either removed or replaced with modern tritium vials. On some of the really high-dose radium MkIII's from the 40's, spending an hour with one around your neck would be like getting a chest x-ray in terms of radiation dose. I've seen as high as 35 micro-sieverts comming off a 40's mkIII.

That being said, a large volume of equipment was sold off in the 1950's, including compasses. Peacetime armies and their requirements differ greatly to wartime. In general, the various units would have kept their later-manufactured pieces and turned their oldest and most abused kit to crown asset disposal. The above compass converted to mils, however, was probably a theft item. The fact it is engraved with an NSN means it was in UK stores until fairly recently so it was either stolen or officially "lost" in all likelihood. Had it been written off, it would be in much worse nick.

Here in Canada, one of the running jokes is how many clearance divers just happen to own Tudor Rolex dive watches from the 1970's. Those timepieces were accountable and strangely enough were reported "lost" pretty frequently - maybe more than any other item in the CF(?). The divers who recreationally dived outside of working hours must have had a knack for recovering "officially lost" Rolex watches from the bottom of bedford basin because those "instruments" never turned up when the divers were thoroughly searched after the op. Either that, or they liked them so much they ran out and bought identical models at the jeweller's.