27th Armoured Brigade. Wooden plaque. 1944.

[Farkas]

Hi Gents

id like to share this DDay period wooden plaque commemorating the British 27th Armoured Brigade.

It recently came from a house clearance but sadly I know nothing of the owner. Not my usual field and I first read it as the 21st. I didn't appreciate the history connected to the 27th....

 

It is 285mm in diameter...

the reverse is perfectly smooth so I think was done on a lathe.

But the front is hand worked. The letters chiselled from blocks.

The wording around the edge is:

'27 ARMOURED BRIGADE

JUNE NORMANDY AUGUST'

I've only seen the 'Seahorse' on one site and it was facing to the right not the left as here 

hope you like it Gents

 

tony

 

Excuse poor pictures- still struggling with file sizes.

tony

Edited July 4, 2017 by Farkas

[coldstream]

Farkas,

Lovely item and in excellent condition, I have seen similar items to other Units which have been described as being made by German PoW's and for some reason the font used in the carving here has a Germanic feel to it to my eye.

A great find, well done.

Simon

[Farkas]

15 minutes ago, coldstream said:

Farkas,

Lovely item and in excellent condition, I have seen similar items to other Units which have been described as being made by German PoW's and for some reason the font used in the carving here has a Germanic feel to it to my eye.

A great find, well done.

Simon

Hi Simon

Thanks for that, i hadn't noticed before but now you point it out I would agree.

the 7 is odd

the 't' splays out at the bottom and the J of June is unusual too.

I do like the thought that this is POW made....

Thanks again Coldstream

Tony

 

[peter monahan]

Certainly done by someone with a degree of skill, a good set of carving tools and lots of time, so POW is certainly a possibility.  I have seen some lovely wood and brass work out of RE and RAOC units in WWI - the products of skilled craftsmen with time on their hands - so the other possibility is a bored sprog in an armoured depot repair company or some such.  Either way, a very nice and unusual souvenir with some historic significance.

The 27th had some of the 'DD' Shermans - the amphibious model - as well as some SP guns and one unit of conventional Shermans and saw service at Normandy, Caen and in Operation Goodwood before being broken up at the end of July, 1944 . 

[Farkas]

Glad you like it Peter...

----

Does anyone know why they were disbanded at that time?

The Brigade had existed for some years. It was not formed just for DDay so it seems odd timing to me.

perhaps it was considered they had done their share of the fighting but I don't know if that's a realistic possibility?

Tony

[peter monahan]

I suspect that the perceived need for 'funnies' - DD Shermans and some of the others - was past and the losses among tank units were very high, so the component regiments were re-assigned to other formations.  Just a guess.

[Farkas]

 

On 06/07/2017 at 13:48, peter monahan said:

I suspect that the perceived need for 'funnies' - DD Shermans and some of the others - was past and the losses among tank units were very high, so the component regiments were re-assigned to other formations.  Just a guess.

Thanks Pete

sadly losses would explain it and as you say the funnies had served their purpose by end of July/Aug.

Seems a shame for those who might have served this brigade for years not to finish their fight under the same name...

ive never researched my goodies in any depth but think I should take a closer look at this one

thanks again

tony

[peter monahan]

My pleasure!

[Farkas]

Hi Gents

I thought I’d add this here. I bought it from the same guy as the one for the 27th armoured.

This also came from a house clearance.

it is sad to think how many such things might be thrown out....

—-/-

This is a momento presumably dating from between 1936 and 1952.

The badge is of the Royal Horse Artillery during the reign of HM King George VI (1936-1952)

It reads:

’Q’ (SANNA’S POST) ANTI TANK BTY

4th ROYAL HORSE ARTILLERY

 

It has a simple period frame and is glassed to the front. I think it was made abroad - just the one piece - then bought home and was framed. 

The back of the wood is uneven and marked but the front is finished and flush

.

It’s been hand crafted. All the details have been carved in, quite lightly but with some skill. 

I googled Sanna’s Post and it relates to the Boer war.

Q Battery acquired their ‘name’ for their actions during this battle.

I would love to, but i cant summarise the story, as there is so much to include or omit. It is a great story. Maybe only new to me.....

I hope you like it Gents....

 

tony

[peter monahan]

Lovely!   Thank you for sharing it.

[Farkas]

Cheers Peter

It is lovely isnt it,  I’m glad you like it.

t.

———-....:-/::;/——

Being from 1944, the armoured corps shield is a solid thing in every sense , it looks chiselled and bold, it feels made to last.   Suits the time.

In contrast, the work on this RHA plaque is fine, like the depth of a Stanley knife cut.Each block making up the border takes 4-6 cuts. I would guess this was made in happier post war setting.

maybe for someone far away from home on National service

I would like to think this was hanging behind a bar somewhere...

tony