Hi All
Following on from my last post regarding the relics recovered from a British army camp site, a few of you asked to see more.
So here you go!
These relics were all recovered from a British army dump site in the UK. The dump itself is roughly the size of a soccer pitch and we have only dug about 20% of it so far, (in the last 5 years!). The relics in this dump site are quite unusual, and not the sort of thing you would find anywhere else.
I think the main reason for showing these though is to show what you can achieve with the right cleaning methods. Many people believe that rusty crap, buried beneath the soil for 70+ years will always be rusty crap. I hope the below changes your mind!
If you prefer video to pics, then the below link is for you!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Xjg7fD6y5k
Here is everything I brought back from one 3 hour dig....

Let's look at the finds a little closer.......
Vickers and Browning M1917 connectors for fixing the condenser hose to the water jacket. Look like crap don't they?

But after a little clean, they come out like this.....


Lee-enfield butt plates.

and after cleaning........... (the item beneath the butt plates I believe is the remains of a rolling block action)

Starter tabs for cloth belts from both the Browning M1917 and Vickers MGs

...........along with some 303 and 30cal cartridges

And after cleaning...........



Various different buckles, (Kerr sling, Lee-enfield sling, Springfield sling, gas mask bag, bayonet tab etc... etc...)

And the same items after cleaning




These odd little items took a little tracking down, but were eventually IDd as being the brackets from a Besa case catcher bag....

A couple after cleaning.....

And here the brackets are, shown on a Besa case catcher bag.

Lee-Enfield No 1 nose caps, in a horrible condition.....

....but not too bad after cleaning....

Lastly, a Vickers MG trigger

and again, after cleaning.....

I suppose the message here is don't discount ground dug relics!! They all have a history of their very own, and you can save the vast majority of them.

All the best
RRPG
Following on from my last post regarding the relics recovered from a British army camp site, a few of you asked to see more.
So here you go!
These relics were all recovered from a British army dump site in the UK. The dump itself is roughly the size of a soccer pitch and we have only dug about 20% of it so far, (in the last 5 years!). The relics in this dump site are quite unusual, and not the sort of thing you would find anywhere else.
I think the main reason for showing these though is to show what you can achieve with the right cleaning methods. Many people believe that rusty crap, buried beneath the soil for 70+ years will always be rusty crap. I hope the below changes your mind!
If you prefer video to pics, then the below link is for you!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Xjg7fD6y5k
Here is everything I brought back from one 3 hour dig....

Let's look at the finds a little closer.......
Vickers and Browning M1917 connectors for fixing the condenser hose to the water jacket. Look like crap don't they?

But after a little clean, they come out like this.....


Lee-enfield butt plates.

and after cleaning........... (the item beneath the butt plates I believe is the remains of a rolling block action)

Starter tabs for cloth belts from both the Browning M1917 and Vickers MGs

...........along with some 303 and 30cal cartridges

And after cleaning...........



Various different buckles, (Kerr sling, Lee-enfield sling, Springfield sling, gas mask bag, bayonet tab etc... etc...)

And the same items after cleaning




These odd little items took a little tracking down, but were eventually IDd as being the brackets from a Besa case catcher bag....

A couple after cleaning.....

And here the brackets are, shown on a Besa case catcher bag.

Lee-Enfield No 1 nose caps, in a horrible condition.....

....but not too bad after cleaning....

Lastly, a Vickers MG trigger

and again, after cleaning.....

I suppose the message here is don't discount ground dug relics!! They all have a history of their very own, and you can save the vast majority of them.
All the best
RRPG