Relic Long Lee butt plate returned to family

[RRPG]

During a recent trip to the British army dump site permission of mine, a fair few Long Lee butt plates were, once again, recovered. The tang on these butt plates are nearly always marked with unit identification letters and numbers. However, during cleaning, one was marked with something totally unexpected and caused a huge amount of excitement.

This is how they looked after an initial clean.

Attachment 78292



And then after something a little more intensive....

Attachment 78293

The tangs usually look like this...

Attachment 78294

Attachment 78295

But NOT this one !!!

Attachment 78296


After some frantic research on the internet, the descendants of Major Green were traced, and I have now spoken to his great nephew. I was pleased to find that he was as excited as I was and is soon going to be in possession of a small piece of his family's*history.*

QOYDIY - Queen's Own Yorkshire Dragoons Imperial Yeomanry

The history of each item I*recover is so very important, and people sometimes find it hard to understand why I*don't sell anything I*recover. This is exactly why. Every relic recovered is a little piece of history, not something to be sold to the highest bidder. They are recovered and preserved so the history can be shared with future generations or, in this case, members of a serviceman's family.

Information

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[CINDERS]

Excellent work RRPG I am sure the butt plate will be treasured by the family as it should for all to often as we are seeing the XYZ generations care not for what our previous generations (Just watch them in a power outage its hilarious) did and put up with so we can enjoy a relatively peaceful life/existence once I figure out how to circumvent taxes and death I will let the forum know the secret.......

[Richard Hare]

Very nice to hear about, and see the buttplates RRPG!

Lovely when a connection can be made. Congrtas on finding the family!

I once owned a chopped No 1 Mk 111, and trigger-guard was marked, "Capt. CSM larder, Devon Reg't."

I couldn't find any living relatives at that time, but internet wasn't what it is today.
It had a lovely single stage trigger I recall!

[browningautorifle]

I wonder if the rifle was a presentation for marksmanship? If so, I wonder how pennybits wound up in a dump?

[RRPG]

Thanks guys

[Lee Enfield]

I wonder if the rifle was a presentation for marksmanship? If so, I wonder how pennybits wound up in a dump?

It's quite possible that the rifle was a private purchase. Most/many of the original intake of Imperial Yeomany were the idle rich looking for adventure. They were largely privately supplied.

I have an 1899/1900 manufactured Colt New Service marked to an individual of Paget's Horse, which was an Imperial Yeomanry unit (supposedly at some point) attached to the Bengal Lancers during the Boer War.

Rather more info is available on Paget's Horse now than the last time I searched.

Paget’s Horse in the Boer War | Military Sun Helmets

More specific to the OP's QOYDIY:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen&...shire_Dragoons
Queen Archives
Queen's Own Yorkshire Yeomanry Museum

[Peter Laidler]

Brilliant bit of work............

[30Three]

Well done! and I'm very pleased to hear that the great nephew is as pleased to get the butt plate.

[RRPG]

Thanks chaps

[Peter Laidler]

Your very interesting contributions to this forum seem to have dried up lately. Keep them coming even if it's just to tease us all about 'what is this'? Go on, put a few more interesting snippets on..............

How easy was it to find the remains of his family? Could they prove the connection?

I found a bit of a cardboard from a cartridge box with Pte R Graham, Border Regt on it rolled up inside the butt of a No1 rifle when I couldn't get the brace in to unscrew the butt stock bolt!