Souvenirs of War

[RattlesnakeBob]

Many years ago as a lad in the late 60s, there was an old fella my Dad knew that had fought across Europe in WW2.......often when we visited talk would turn to his old army days and the war and inevitably he would dig about in his sideboard and show you his souvenirs.......he had a Luger pistol (albeit a bit damaged in that it was missing one of the grippers off the side of the pistol grip) and also a big brass signal pistol that looked to me like a very short old fashioned blunderbus..:-)

............my Dad in turn, would often relate (moan about ! haha!) how he'd tried to bring an Browning automatic pistol home from Korea that he'd swapped his guitar for with a US soldier ..... much to his disgust he would tell of how random searches were carried out on the soldiers as they disembarked from their homecoming ship and 'his' pistol was found and confiscated.The old boy would say that he and his mates brought more or less anything they wanted home from WW2 and certainly made it sound as if no searches or checks were carried out on them at all.....

.....I got to wondering.......Surely there must have been literally thousands of souvenirs brought home after WW2???

..so.... how many of you have heard of various items (not just weapons) being brought home from various wars?.....whether it was a relative or a family friend or just some old boy that used to frequent your local pub maybe?...

anyone got any interesting stories ???...

..........and..with all the recent action in Afghanistan and Iraq....what's the present position taken by the authorities regarding the bringing home of a 'souvenir' of your war?

PS......Understanding of course that the collector of the any such 'souvenirs' .... should remain as anonymous as absolutely possible of course :-D..

I would certainly hate for our chattering to result in some cherished old goodie having to be surrendered to the Police for the usual mindless destruction........

[woa2]

My Father was in the far east, and in 1946 he came back to the UK for de-mob. The troop train he was on stopped briefly at Reading West station, which was just by where his Mother lived. He dropped 2 kitbags of kit off to the station master and after de-mob, came back and collected them. Unfortunately, all I have left is his bush hat and a packet of Japanese cigarettes as all the rest was disposed of before I came along.

[jchinuk]

My Dad's Uncle returned from WW1 (he was an armourer in the RFC/RAF) with a Lewis gun, Dad remembers it sat next to the fireplace. It was donated to the local Home Guard (who had no ammunition for it) at the outbreak of hostilities second time around.

 

I have a hand grenade (inert!) that Dad brought back from National Service, plus the tail fins of a German incendiary bomb dropped on Grandparent's house, so that was delivered rather than smuggled!

 

jh

[Chris Hall]

Not much can be brought back from Iraq or Afghan unless it was purchased or a gift and you have a receipt. I have known people bring back items bought at the bizarres and I know a Flight Leui that brought back a AK47 for deactivation. The RAF Police scan or search pretty much all freight and luggage as it is processed through the terminal.

[wattie]

My Dad had a Webley Scott revlolver(on a FAC) for as long as I can remember it was supposed to have belonged to a great Uncle who went missing in 1918.

 

I could never fathom if it was my great Uncles why was it at the family home he was a Private in the 6th Btn SWB would he have a pistol?

 

When Dad died (the day after I came back from the 1979 MVT tour) my mother was holding an illegal firearm .I attempted to own the pistol and was advised that an FAC whould not be granted for a Souvenir of war,I did not think of it being deactivated so the Police took it away.

 

I then carried out some more research and found out the revolver was Police issue and belonged to my Great Grandfather(a police officer) and when he retired handed on to my Grandfather who was also a police officer in South Wales it was kept at home.

 

I hope it ended up in a museum someware.

 

I do recall when I was probably ten or eleven finding some bullets in the garage (as you do) getting the pistol out of the loft and trying to load it ,fortunatly they did not fit I often wonder if they did fit what would I have done next.

 

My Dad had all his personel kit stolen from the back of his truck in Italy he lost every thing including two Lugers .:-(

 

I also remember two hand granades at home no idea if they were live they got chucked in the river at Shrewsbury where we lived in the fiftys.Probably just as well I would have wanted to find out if they were live as I got older.

[Degsy]

In the book 'And it's called a Tam O' Shanter' the author describes the scene on the leave boat in 1945 when word went round that they were to be searched on landing. Hundreds of men were to be seen throwing souvenirs into the sea before the boat docked.

[RattlesnakeBob]

In the book 'And it's called a Tam O' Shanter' the author describes the scene on the leave boat in 1945 when word went round that they were to be searched on landing. Hundreds of men were to be seen throwing souvenirs into the sea before the boat docked.

 

..........it might be time to dig the old scuba gear out then ! hahahaha:cheesy:

[Enigma]

"Grandpa" Bob, 53rd Welch, East Lanc wore a German skull ring at least 60 years.

He got it from a Germen who "didn't say no".....

 

 

Tom, 53rd Welsh, Ox and Bucks some of his souvenirs;

 

[Degsy]

..........it might be time to dig the old scuba gear out then ! hahahaha:cheesy:

 

Not quite so daft as it might sound although probably too late now presumably with dozens if not hundreds of leave boats returning the seabed of Dover and Folkestone must have been covered in weapons at the time.

Edited March 10, 2012 by Degsy

[RattlesnakeBob]

Not quite so daft as it might sound although probably too late now presumably with dozens if not hundreds of leave boats returning the seabed of Dover and Folkestone must have been covered in weapons at the time.

I remember reading a in a book years ago that apparently in the last few months of the war, Allied troops got very adept at searching through log piles at cottages and farms in the villages during the final push into Germany....Our boys had quickly learnt that such wood stores were a favourite hiding place for German officers to stash their pistols in an endeavor I guess to keep them out of keen 'collectors' hands.....maybe their intention was to come back themselves at some time to get their weapon but either way a lot of goodies were found and 'liberated'! Another favourite place to look was wherever there was a bridge over a stream or brook....German troops thinking they were stopping their weapons falling into Allied hands would quite often lob their pistols/rifles off a handy bridge as they retreated...........

[Pzkpfw-e]

I have a recollection of similar dumping overboard, being mentioned about the return of the Canberra from The Falklands.

My father told me, that his father brought a nice Mauser pistol back. Father & a friend took it out to try, putting a shot into a fairly substantial tree.

They started to try & dig the bullet out, failed to do so, then checked the opposite side of the tree & found the exit hole!

I've just got the Kriegsmarine dagger & sheath, that he brought back, plus a cap band from an Italian submariner, plus the keys for HMS Havant's No2 magazine. Probably the only bit of that ship still on the surface, the rest being somewhere off Dunkirk.

Got an 88mm Flak shell & cartridge case (deac), bought that some years back.

Edited March 10, 2012 by Pzkpfw-e

[nptimber]

My grandfather and his two brothers were in the leicestershire yeomanry 153 div R.A, Guards armoured div .

My grandfather was a driver ,one was battery sgt major and the youngest was on a sherman firefly. (bbc peoples war charles freer ) i went to see him some years ago and sat and listened to him tell me his war diary from 1939 till 1945 just wish i had recorded it . he told me of his fight through caen and produced a tool kit from a horsa glida which consisted of box spanners etc he also insisted his wife got a pair of boots from upstairs which took ages to find ,they were suede and had a lufftewaffe winged emblem imprinted in the leather and the sole; he explained that he nicked them from an airfield that they captured. he went on to tell me he found two french hammer shotguns which he kept on his tank great for close quarter stuff he said ! there were quite a lot of photos of his firefly i will try to track them down and ask permission for copies

[morris c8 fat]

After the Falklands I had an M16 mag chucked over the side because I hadnt declared it and after the first Gulf war I was called in over a 7.62 round in my bag! turns out that it was a bottle of Tabasca sause

[desperatedes]

chatting to my friends dad who was a marine. told me he spent a long time rowing a small boat loaded to the gills with captured weapons and dumping them into the harbour at kiel. he spent weeks at it he told me RIP bert a proper old gent.sadly missed.

[LUCAS ENGLAND]

Not quite so daft as it might sound although probably too late now presumably with dozens if not hundreds of leave boats returning the seabed of Dover and Folkestone must have been covered in weapons at the time.

 

A local collector I know has the remains of a maxin gun that was picked up by a fishing trawler!

Edited March 11, 2012 by LUCAS ENGLAND
spelling

[Tony B]

After the Falklands I had an M16 mag chucked over the side because I hadnt declared it and after the first Gulf war I was called in over a 7.62 round in my bag! turns out that it was a bottle of Tabasca sause

Section 5 ! Discharges noxious substance! :-D

[mash]

Not a soldiers souvenir however a lot of equipment was left in the islands and my Gran's brother upon returning soon filled his parents shed with all manor of German equipment, he had full uniforms for and officers, regs and lufftewaffe personnel with weapons and piles of helmets and web equipment, sadly now all lost as he would often gamble various items. My Gran however does have an original photo real showing the unique German side of the occupation. On the other side of my family my Grandfather was deported to Biberach and came back with various items including a belt and buckle, a few rings and other trinkets.

[Jack]

Not quite so daft as it might sound although probably too late now presumably with dozens if not hundreds of leave boats returning the seabed of Dover and Folkestone must have been covered in weapons at the time.

 

I heard a same sort of story about Southampton Water. Apparently when they dredged the channel they used to bring up tons of stuff :undecided:

[rustyaustinchamp]

I used to know a farmer many years ago who was in the Royal artillery (1943-45). He collected quite a few souvenirs in France and Germany and on the way home they were docking at Southampton. He said at this point he bottled it and dropped his Smeisher (spelling's wrong I know) MP40 over the side. It had been hidden in his kitbag.

 

But he didn't get rid of everything and thinking he'd not be in so much trouble if they 'just' found a Luger in his kitbag, he smuggled that through successfully.

 

He told me this in the late 80s and of how he occasionally used to use the Luger on his farm, shooting at cans and bottles. But 20 years earlier (1960s), his father, a wW1 veteran, didn't like Geoff having an illegal firearm at the farm so when the Police announced an amnesty which was late 60s I think, Geoff handed it in at the local police station.

 

Geoff did however give me a German army cleaning kit for a K98, a Coastal Artillery war badge, an unused Kriegsmarine cloth breast eagle, a Police cloth arm badge, a black wound badge, a Luftwaffe cap eagle and a 1935 Nazi party day badge, all of which he picked up in either France or Germany.

 

He also gave me his WW2 black and red dress side cap from the RA which is in mint condition and a 1945 British army shirt similarly mint because the military gave it to him in 1945 and he never wore it before he came home.

 

He also had a pair of 6x30 German Army binoculars with 'Dienstglas' on them and they were in very nice order when I saw them. He said he would like to keep these for now but he'd leave them to me in his will.

 

He died a few years ago and the family never mentioned it to me so I guess Geoff never got round to updating his will, his widow is still alive but I don't have the heart to mention anything about it.

 

Martin

[Tony B]

Not a soldiers souvenir however a lot of equipment was left in the islands and my Gran's brother upon returning soon filled his parents shed with all manor of German equipment, he had full uniforms for and officers, regs and lufftewaffe personnel with weapons and piles of helmets and web equipment, sadly now all lost as he would often gamble various items. My Gran however does have an original photo real showing the unique German side of the occupation. On the other side of my family my Grandfather was deported to Biberach and came back with various items including a belt and buckle, a few rings and other trinkets.

Yeah, if we had know as kids :banghead:

[Enigma]

My grandfather and his two brothers were in the leicestershire yeomanry 153 div R.A, Guards armoured div .

My grandfather was a driver ,one was battery sgt major and the youngest was on a sherman firefly. (bbc peoples war charles freer ) i went to see him some years ago and sat and listened to him tell me his war diary from 1939 till 1945 just wish i had recorded it . he told me of his fight through caen and produced a tool kit from a horsa glida which consisted of box spanners etc he also insisted his wife got a pair of boots from upstairs which took ages to find ,they were suede and had a lufftewaffe winged emblem imprinted in the leather and the sole; he explained that he nicked them from an airfield that they captured. he went on to tell me he found two french hammer shotguns which he kept on his tank great for close quarter stuff he said ! there were quite a lot of photos of his firefly i will try to track them down and ask permission for copies

 

Would be great if you got permission to show the photo's.

[Redherring]

My late grandparents home was a veritable museum. Alas the old place burnt down in 1983. I did recover a rather charred Japanese officers dirk. However, my grandfather would have been most distressed about the loss of a photograph which hung in the hall portraying four subalternes c.1914. He was the only one of the group to return home in 1919.

[25 pounder]

I had several souvenirs , "left behinds" from Belgian , German and Canadian troops , given to me mostly by farmers , who found these objects hidden in their barns , as there were bajonets , canteens , bread tins , even a German Mauser Gewehr 98 with its bajonet,

unfortunately , most of these items got stolen from me about 4 years ago , still feeling sad about that , because the people I got it from were the "first" owners after the military , and it had a relation with the spots they had been discovered on,

Doing my daily job , I still meet farmers who use WW 2 petrol cans , and even the 200 liter "WEHRMACHT" drum,

there still is a lot to discover , couple of weeks ago , a Belgian "police cap" was found , while doing renovation works on a roof , at a local farm , it must have been hidden there since May 1940 , amazing find, very happy the farmer handed it over to me !

[RattlesnakeBob]

I do agree there is quite probably a lot of gear 'out there' still hidden away in barns and lofts etc...

....down the road from me is an old US Army Camp abandoned in 1946 and cleared more or less apart from the concrete hut foundations by the middle 1950s.........I must have walked through it 10,000 times with my dogs but yesterday, right in the path that I take ever single day....and not even off to one side either.....I noticed there was a piece of steel sticking out of the dirt...

..a good tug later and I had one of those 4' long barbed wire 'twisty/squirrly' support poles from the old perimeter fence in my hands!..

Yeah I know..........not much of a find in the grand scheme of things ,

it doesn't really measure up to finding a BAR or a Garand or a steel helmet :cry:...

....but !......

[garys39]

I bought this smock pictured below along with some British 1960's

combat jackets and other clothing from a carboot sale a couple of years ago, I thought when I saw the smock with the other items, that it was a modern 1960's mountaineering smock (it was inside out and all screwed up).

The chap was selling his late fathers British army uniform/kit (his father served from the mid 50's through to the late 60's), and when I asked him if he had any other items, he said that he had a pair of German army binoculars that his uncle had brought back from the war (which were in the suit case with his fathers army kit), but those he was going to keep as they brought back memories as a child when they would go round to his uncles and the uncle would get out a German kit bag, which had 2x helmets, badges, bayonet, belts and some uniforms (all German souvenirs), and let him play with the stuff. When the uncle died, this chaps dad, had cleared the house, and brought this kit bag home with him, sadly as children do, most of the other stuff disappeared over the years and the binoculars were all that he had left.

He told me the uncle had returned injured from Normandy in late August/September and due to his injuries left the army at this time.

The smock is a WW11 German snipers smock and I only got it, because the seller said take the suitcase and contents for £15, I was only going to take the 2x combat jackets originally, until he said take everything as a job lot !

Best Regards

Gary