ruxy Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 (edited) http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/9618342/War-heros-cremation-leaves-huge-pile-of-shrapnel.html Hard to believe if that is the actual metal, some thingies seem like curtain hooks, were Pozidriv / Philiphs type screw heads around during WW2 ? Most strange.. Edited October 18, 2012 by ruxy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruxy Posted October 18, 2012 Author Share Posted October 18, 2012 Does seem just possible :- 1937 abt. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_F._Phillips http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pozidriv#Pozidriv Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony B Posted October 19, 2012 Share Posted October 19, 2012 First of all they are Fragments, not Shrapnel (Sorry, but I find it teeth grating when the fragments are wrongly named) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaces Posted October 19, 2012 Share Posted October 19, 2012 Coffin nails/screws maybe? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
griff66 Posted October 19, 2012 Share Posted October 19, 2012 really dont think he was carrying that lot around for 60 years?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruxy Posted October 19, 2012 Author Share Posted October 19, 2012 IMHO (but I am not a medic) the material would have to be Titanium,gold, stainless steel. The zinc on the screws would be stripped very soon, water content in body = rust = tetnus . A pair of the thingies - they seem like horse shoe shaped paper clips , or are they for holding coffin trim ? Many of the bent bits could be industrial staples for chipboard / trim ? Some roundish thingies could be big buckshot ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony B Posted October 19, 2012 Share Posted October 19, 2012 It is usual to run a magnet over the remains to remove any metal. Me inclined to think someone got sloppy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cornishbloke Posted October 19, 2012 Share Posted October 19, 2012 Looking at German anti personnel mines, most contained separate balls designed to injure the victim. I would have thought these would count as shrapnel and the dispersed remains of the case as fragments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
griff66 Posted October 20, 2012 Share Posted October 20, 2012 its coffin hardware remains or the chap liked eating metal! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony B Posted October 20, 2012 Share Posted October 20, 2012 Looking at German anti personnel mines, most contained separate balls designed to injure the victim. I would have thought these would count as shrapnel and the dispersed remains of the case as fragments. Yes, Shrapnel is specific projectiles, any odd shape bits are fragments. As an aside, German Great War Shrapnel is very year, it was steel and rusted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
griff66 Posted October 20, 2012 Share Posted October 20, 2012 my granddad used to have a baccy box full of shrapnel he had picked up in first world war the most nasty irregular pieces of metal u could imagine being hit by!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enigma Posted October 20, 2012 Share Posted October 20, 2012 Coffin nails/screws maybe? I think the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Hall Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 I'd have to agree, the wire looks like staples to hold the lining in place and philips screws are relatively new. I believe the gentleman really did have a bullet in his leg but the extreme heat would have melted the lead core and probably the copper too. The other thing of course is that a .303 wouldnt be magnetic so the bullet would remain in his ashes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onetrack Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 That stuff isn't shrapnel from WW2 by any stretch of the imagination. Bits of wire and screw shanks aren't even contained in the worst of modern IED's. WW2 mines were cast iron, and the fragments look nothing like what is shown in the pic. I'm inclined towards thinking they're coffin screws and staples. Either that, or the old bloke liked chewing and swallowing bits of metal. It's not unknown as an odd habit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony B Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 Or in our case, ingesting rust! :-D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timbo Posted October 24, 2012 Share Posted October 24, 2012 Whilst I am inclined to agree with all of the above I also think if it makes his family, and others, reflect on the sacrifice made by their grandfather and past generations then good luck to 'em! RIP.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enigma Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 Whilst I am inclined to agree with all of the above I also think if it makes his family, and others, reflect on the sacrifice made by their grandfather and past generations then good luck to 'em! RIP.... Indeed. Even if this metal wasn't actual shrapnell the veteran has still done his part. May he rest in peace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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