202 Base Workshop

[Flying10uk]

Does anyone know the location of 202 Base Workshop, please? I have recently purchased an empty Bren Transit Chest requiring complete restoration and on the outside was a cardboard label indicating the weapon was in long term storage at 202 Base Workshop. It could, perhaps, be in Canada because there was a feint outline of a maple leaf on the box or though I'm not sure if this is a genuine marking or could be in the U.K.??? Thank-you for any help

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[browningautorifle]

We have a 202 base workshop in Montreal.

[Flying10uk]

Thanks Jim. that ties in with it being Canadian. Although I'm not a wood expert, the wood that it appears to be made of would appear to be a type of Pine or similar, quite soft, rather than a traditional English hardwood.

[browningautorifle]

That's possible. Hard to say unless you strip the paint off for a look though.

[Flying10uk]

This Canadian Bren transit chest which I am restoring has the interior stained with a dark brown/black wood stain/dye which looks much better than the British Bren chests which, the examples I have seen, are painted a horrible orange colour. Is it normal for Canadian weapon storage/transit chests to be finished in this manner or were they painted or stained in a variety of different colours, please?

[Peter Laidler]

The colour of the interior is............ Let me put it another way....... Have you ever tried to ascertain the actual silver colour of the steel wheels for Mini's, made by Dunlop or Rostyle? It all depends on what silver paint was available that day, or week or month. The colour of the insides varied from chest to chest and how they'd aged and the amount of heat, cold and grease had got to them.

[Kev G]

I'm not sure it ties in with being of Canadian origin as interiour colour and the 202 base workshop label are only indicators of where it might have passed through.....but just my 2p's worth.
I've had a quantity of chests with the 202 base workshop labels but they have been a mix of Canadian and UK chest makers (pooled equipment ?)
Most of them with Canadian mapel leaf stencils on the outside appear to be designated to post war foriegn aid programmes.
The sure way to determine manufacturer,country of origin and date of manufacture is to look for the imprint of stampings giving this data usualy found on the end dovetail joints of the chest.



ATB Kevin