Petrol tins

[Rlangham]

Picked up a couple of British petrol tins today for a fiver each (i'd have bought more, but I ran out of hands to carry them!) - anyone know what the correct colour for them would be? Apparently the only difference between the tins used for water and those for petrol was the colour of the cap, be interested in knowing the two colours too.

 

Cheers, Rob

 

[Richard Farrant]

- anyone know what the correct colour for them would be?

 

 

Well those are civilian cans, so correct colour depends on the make of petrol. The Shell one on the right, looks the correct colour, I think the shell motif on top may have been painted yellow. Not sure about Pratt's can, green may be right.

 

If you look on the bottoms it will probably have Valor stamped in (paraffin stove makes) and a date.

[woa2]

Not sure about WW1, but in WW2 the Petrol can should be plain, but with 'Petroleum Spirit Highly Inflammable' with WD and a date on the top. No name on the side, and it would be coloured Kharki or OD. Water cans were identical, but the top was plain with no markings. All cans were dated on the bottom. Water cans were either painted White with a Black line and W or Water, or Black with a White line and W or Water (I've seen both in old photos). Brass cap was plain in all cases. Canadian manufactured cans were different, as they had a ridge around the top.

In WW1 I believe Shell supplied the Army with thousands (millions?) of cans, and these had Shell stamped on the sides. There is a reference to Shell Road which was made out of flattened Shell cans. I have heard that Water was sometimes carried in old Petrol cans in WW1 as there were complaints from the troops about the taste of their drinking water.

If the cans have a price stamped on them, this is the deposit the user paid to get the can. It also makes it Civilian and not Military.

£5 each isn't bad - about average price.

In WW2, Jerrycans used for water in the British Army had a white cross + painted on them so they wouldn't get confused with Petrol jerrycans.

Hope this helps.

[Rlangham]

Cheers - I was hoping to use them as civilian cans 'impressed' into WW1 service. At least if I ever get two Vickers guns I have enough steam condenser tins for them!

[Tony B]

Depending on age, if it is 'Royal Dutch Shell' the body should be Orange with a Yellow shell. Shell lost the Royal prefix when the british became involved. Couple of nice tins. As a number of officer's private cars went over, including vehicles that ended up as 'Armoured Cars' as part of the RNACS, and impressed civillian vehicles there is no reason why you could not have a reasonable explanation why they are in your kit. Yes petrol cans were used to carry water, and there are many refrences to the taint that was left.

[REME 245]

Can normaly have there dates pressed into the bottom.

 

WW2 Water can were originally white in colour but tended to get painted in darker colours later in the war for camouflage purposes.

[Great War truck]

The petrol tins in WW1 were sourced entirely from commercial fuel manufacturers and were initially kept in the brightly coloured paint schemes applied by the manufacturers. The only exceptions to this were the ones that were no longer used for petrol, but used to carry oil or water which were painted black and had the letters O or W painted on the side to prevent mistakes. It would seem that some petrol ones were also painted black and had the letter P on the side. It is also possible that some were painted in the same colour paint as the lorry although with an abscence of coloured photos this is difficult to prove.

 

I would think that the ones used for cooling the Vickers would have been painted Khaki.

 

I hope that helps.

 

Tim (too)

[Rlangham]

Thanks Tim, in that case I may paint one of them as a water tin (probably the green one as it's current paintjob is a bit of a mess) - i'm presuming the letters would have been painted in a white colour? The only date is on the Shell one, and that is VALOR 5 37, which, thanks to a friend, means May 1937

[Eugene]

Here's some late Great War period cans from my collection:

 

 

The can with a Shell logo has had a WWI handle grafted (soldered) on to it.

 

Unlike Second World War and later cans they have the broad arrow/ crow's foot and date stamped into the handle rather than embossed on the top:

 

 

 

 

Further to some of the previous comments, the colour of cans is a matter of much debate.

The commercial ones came in a multitude of colours, dependant on the brand. However, there were refurbishment programs where cans would be repaired and dipped in (usually red) paint.

 

Military cans were khaki/ green/ black/ white, etc. as stated. In theory, fuel ones were stamped "PETROLEUM SPIRIT HIGHLY INFLAMMABLE" (this, and their capacity, makes them still legally useable for petrol today-unlike Jerry cans!) and the water/ lubricant ones were blank.

However, logistical demands meant that the right can wasn't always available -my uncle also had to endure foul-tasting water from cans previously used for petrol during the Second World War.

 

Valor is a common make, but others include Feaver and FF&S.

 

Incidentally, Canadian cans (with the lip on top -this is also found on early Pratts/ Anglo-American cans) more often than not seem to have alloy rather than brass caps.

 

Could go on and on -I collect two-gallon cans (or "Toucans" or "POW" -Petrol, Oil, Water- cans). I have over a hundred, about forty of which are military, the rest all different brands. Depending on the logo, and condition, values range from a couple of quid to several hundred pounds for rare ones -this also applies to the lids. Sorry, but yours -though nice- are at the lower end of the scale!

 

-Roger.

[gritineye]

I have had this for some years, I have never seen another one. It needs to go to a good caring home.

 

[Great War truck]

Excellent. I have learned something really useful there.

Thanks

 

Tim (too)

[Eugene]

Very nice!

If you'd like to PM me with details I'd be interested. Dad's garage was a B.P. one -probably has a lot to answer for, even though it was before my time (just)!

-Roger.

[Lauren Child]

I also have a can like this. It's a Shell can, and has the Shell logo with wings on the front. I bought it as an old aviation gas can but heard later that it was probably just a normal petrol can.

[Tony B]

Valour, made a lot of pressed metal for petroleum use, they also made pressed steel parrafin heatears.

[Eugene]

I also have a can like this. It's a Shell can, and has the Shell logo with wings on the front. I bought it as an old aviation gas can but heard later that it was probably just a normal petrol can.

 

This is for "Aviation Spirit" -it should be embossed on it, unless it's a rare variant:

 

 

Of note is the one on the left which has been impressed into service for Pool Petrol -the wartime grade fuel -I won't be repainting that one!

-Roger.

[Lauren Child]

This is for "Aviation Spirit" -it should be embossed on it, unless it's a rare variant:

 

 

I don't think it does have Aviation Spirit stamped onto it. It's been a long time though, so I'll have to look it out when I head back to my dad's place.

 

My brother was mad on steam trains so we went to a lot of transport and steam fairs when I was younger. I picked it up intending to paint it up nicely, but I bit off a bit more than I could chew, and didnt quite have the oomph for paint stripping in those days. It's sat in the shed/garage ever since.

 

Funnily enough I was pondering doing something with it just the other day. Now I just have to find it....

Edited June 24, 2008 by Lauren Child

[Richard Farrant]

Here is an unusually marked army can ;

[woa2]

Here is an unusually marked army can ;

I have seen these 'Insect Repellant' cans before, all being dated 1945. Wasn't something being got ready for the invasion of Japan, was it?

[Richard Farrant]

I have seen these 'Insect Repellant' cans before, all being dated 1945. Wasn't something being got ready for the invasion of Japan, was it?

 

Robert,

 

I think the can is dated around '45. I would think it is something to do with the Far East. Don't know where it came from other than it was with a vehicle, unlikely that one was in FE though.

[gunnerop]

hello,

 

I have a can I obtained on the Somme about 20 years ago. This has most of its tin plating present and has never been painted (checked in all the nooks and crannys and under the handle etc) still bright plating. This has a makers cartouche and broad arrow on the top, and the date 1916, as well as the usual petroleum spirit embossed lettering. I have seen a photo of a dump of these tins and judging by the reflections many of these tins may have been unpainted.

I also pulled about a third of one out of the ground whilst battlefield walking in the 80's. This had a date 1914 on the handle and was painted RED. I still have this remnant somewhere.

Hope this helps

 

Paul

[Great War truck]

Do you have any photos of them?

 

Thanks

 

Tim

[Bodge Deep]

I like the POOL can. Got one one the for my dads pre war car in original grey with large white P stencilled on the side.

[Eugene]

Here's an oddity. It's a 1945 dated can with traces of WD green paint on it. It has the word "Samphire" stencilled on both sides in white. The top is flat, so probably a water can.

 

 

I "googled" Samphire and (not being Percy Thrower!) found it to be an edible plant.

Why this would be on a can I can't imagine.

It was being used as the expansion tank on a Vickers MG as part of the display of weapons at the Kemble Show last weekend. The owner, a lovely chap who I have seen with this display since the days of Southsea, could not enlighten me.

Any ideas?

-Roger.

[Tony B]

Could have been the name of tank?

[Eugene]

Could have been the name of tank?

 

Possibly, the guy with the display did suggest that it could've been the name of a vehicle.

But plants and flowers? not very butch!