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Long Lee relic returned to family


Steve T

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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.

1 Uncleaned.JPG

 

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

2 Cleaned.JPG

 

The tangs usually look like this...

3 Normal markings 1.JPG

4 Normal markings 2.JPG

But NOT this one !!!

 

Major Green.JPG

 

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.

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Hello Steve,

 

What a great project you have started, especially to find the relatives of this Great soldier so many years ago..Very, Very Commendable to You....Well Done...!!!

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Hello Steve,

These have come up Superb! after cleaning them...what method did you use please? 

Desert Rat

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Step 1 - Smack with a hammer to remove all big chunks of rust

Step 2 - Scrub with stiff wire brush to remove as much mud and leftover loose rust as possible

Step 3 - Soak in a 10-20% solution of citric acid, using very hot water, for at least 12 hours

Step 4 - Remove from citric acid, rinse, dunk in strong sodium bicarb solution to neutralise any left over acid

Step 5 - Dry

Step 6 - Whizz a wire brush attachment on an electric pillar drill all over the item

Step 7 - Take photos as they now look awesome.

 

:) 

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  • 1 year later...

Just read this...over 1 year later.  A great story with an even better ending.  I often sit in my "bunker" with history all around me & wish that they could talk.  Especially personal items, such as an M1916 Stahlhelm with "Meyer" painted inside.  Who was he?  Was he KIA or a survivor?  Where are his kinfolk?  How did it get from there to here?

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hello Boonie,

 

Yes I feel the same with some of the French Resistance Items  I collect....Just sit and look at them and wonder if only they could tell me when and who used/ wore them/ when and what happened to them, were they killed captured or ended up at Gestapo HQ and tortured...I know from real life many were as the Dear Belgian Resistance Lady I knew From " The Comete Line". Her code name was "Lily" and her real name was Michou, that she told me the many times I met her in France at her home. I think over 150 were executed, murdered, and sent to Death Camps in Germany as "Nacht Und Nebel" prisoners....No hope or release and tortured to death!!!

 

Best Wishes...IanB

LILY .JPG

Edited by Desert Rat
correction to text
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Image sole Copyright of Ian R Bridle   www.edenbridgetown.com   NO use without permission from me...Thank You!

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