GRANDAD'S LUCKY WW1 CIGARETTE TIN

[PJT]

I wondered if the WW1 enthusiasts might be interested in seeing photos of Fred's lucky tin.

My most treasured possession.

If ever there was a case against smoking being bad for you!!

Fred was a Lewis gunner in the 1/4th and then 1/5th Lincolns.

This was in his breast pocket at the time He was hit by that very nasty looking piece of shrapnel (approx. 1917)

Interesting to see that he kept his spare lenses in with his fags - two things that needed protection and that might be needed quickly.

As a WW1 enthusiast it would be great to hear from other forum members that might have similar artefacts.

Paul

[ubervamp]

What an amazing item, and what a story behind it! I'm glad you managed to keep it in the family!

Thanks for sharing

Cheers

Colin

[Roy]

Hi Paul,

Thanks for sharing this great little bit of history. Such things are worth little money but their true value is priceless.

I recall being shown something similar by a family many years ago. They also had a small tin with some damage (due to a bullet as I recall).

With that much lead flying around I suspect it wan't all that uncommon. Gosh makes one shiver just thinking about it...!

Glad you took the time to share this Paul.

All the best from a Shropshire lad in sunny Arizona.

Roy.

[PJT]

Colin/Roy,

The lead was still flying about a year later....these are his field medical cards for another shrapnel wound to his forearm. This one being a blighty wound.

All the best from a Lincolnshire lad in a (not very) sunny Hull, East Yorkshire!

Paul

[JerryBB]

An interesting piece of Great War family history. I have seen others of this type, but this with known history from your family must really make it a treasured possession.

[Brian Conyngham]

Guys

I believe bibles saved a number of lives, the pages absorbed the projectile much better than a solid object, saw one in a museum with a bullet stopped half way though it. Apparently the chap sustained broken ribs but survived!

Brian