Central Clearing House - Outcasts souvenir.
1941 Souvenir ashtray of the ' Outcasts ' - the nickname for the staff of the London Clearing Banks - the Central Clearing House or CCH, who were evacuated and temporarily housed in Trentham Gardens in Staffordshire. Ashtrays were commissioned from Fieldings and manufactured under their ' Crown Devon ' range and formed companion pieces to the earlier 1940, mugs by Falcon Ware (T.Lawrence Ltd) ... read more
Shooting to Live - W.E.Fairbairn & E.A.Sykes.
Published in 1942 as a companion to his better known work ' All in Fighting ', W.E.Fairbairn combined with E.A.Sykes to outline handgun use. Much of the methodology was unorthodox and gleaned from experience in the Shanghai police and was thus of far more use than the received teachings of the military. This experience was passed by Fairbairn to numerous military groups from the Home Guard to S... read more
Wartime utility radio.
A good example of a Wartime Civilian Receiver or ' Utility Radio '.
Manufactured by A.C.Cossor as indicated by the U3 marking to the reverse, the WCR was an attempt to standardise radio production in Britain in order to make economies in valuable radio production. The design was made by a wide number of manufacturers and attempts were made to make it generally available in an effort to b... read more
Wartime Tin - ' Zems ' Cough Sweets.
Wartime economy tin of ' Zems ' Herbal licorice tablets for the instant relief of coughs, bronchitis and asthma. Featuring the wartime expedient of direct printing onto tin and featuring a controlled price. Clean, bright condition. read more
Home Guard Instruction - No.43 1942 - Protection Against Gas.
24pg, illustrated leaflet , ' Home Guard Instruction - No.43 1942 - Protection Against Gas '. Covering subjects from gas masks, clothing, training and types of gases. Good, used condition, minor marking and rusting of staples. read more
NFS ' Reception Officer ' Armband.
Printed heavy cotton armband for a Reception Officer of the NFS. The pattern and authorisation for this armband was sealed in 1942 but very little other information can be currently ascertained, maybe an administrative post at the scene of an incident perhaps. Excellent, clean, probably unissued condition. read more
Patriotic wartime matchbox cover.
Tin and celluloid matchbox cover sporting pictures of the Allies leaders, Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin to one side and their respective countries' flags to the other. A patriotic sentence celebrating the defeat of the 'Greatest Tyrany in History' to the third side. In good condition with some minor areas of foxing . read more
Birmingham AFS Car Badge.
Chrome and enamel car badge for Birmingham Auxiliary Fire Service complete with fixing plate. These badges were worn on vehicles , not only through a sense of pride but also as an indicator of official vehicles. Worn condition with wearing of chrome and some damage to enamel however, an uncommon item read more
' F.V. ' factory ARP badge.
Pressed white metal, pinback badge for an unknown company 'F.V.' with an enamelled finish. In excellent condition with some very minor enamel loss.
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Wartime WVS Hat.
Officially issued WVS hat. Green felt body with maroon crepe ribbon with the standard WVS Civil Defence chrome and enamel badge. This style of hat was common to the ARP and Civil Defence services and this example manufactured by Sutton of Stockport has been inspected by WD inspectors indicated by the inspection stamps which also give an inspection date of 1943 ( letter N ). This date is further... read more