Muck, gunk, recyclables and keepers.

[2ndoldman]

Week one without my favorite toy and I am going through withdrawal. :sick:
So I have been concentrating on trying to master the Excal.
I have not hit the sandy beaches yet. At least I would not call this a sandy beach.

And no scoop that I know of is going to let you sift through that crud easily so I built myself a little floating sifter to help.

I thought the "KEEPING BC BEAUTIFUL" message was very appropriate as this is the type of stuff I get.
One days worth of brass and copper.

And the same days take of lead.

The beer bottle was also found that day but it is there for size reference.
The bag certainly keeps the trips to the shore to empty the pouch at a minimum. :smile: :laugh:
Before anyone sees fit to point out the lack of holes in the sifter, I should mention how I use it.
I picked up a Garrett AT Pro Pointer and it does the trick, even in salt water.
Turn it on while holding it under water and it automatically tunes out the salt, then pinpoint the item in the sifter without any trouble.
Even tiny little brass pieces like this one.

I originally thought it might have something to do with Puma.

But as you can see their logo is reversed.

2 other keepers from the water included this compact.

[2ndoldman]

  And a 1905 dime.


  My one and only dry land hunt this week did net me a sweet button.

  Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire light infantry. http://www.1914-1918.net/oxbucks.htm

  Unfortunately there are no back marks to help with nailing down a date of manufacture.

  My good friend Micheal (hopefully he forgives me for posting pics of his find here)
Has found a holed coin.

[2ndoldman]

that was used to make an ID tag for the same regiment.

Since they were about a mile apart in locations it is unlikely they came from the same individual but you never know. Neither of us has found any reference to the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire light infantry ever having been stationed in Victoria,

[Driftwood]

That is some very cool stuff! I've go to get me a metal detector!

[2ndoldman]

Driftwood wrote: That is some very cool stuff! I've go to get me a metal detector!

You would be totally surprised by what you can find. chase does quite well doing double duty when he is out walking the fields.
Keep you eyes on the ground looking for points and listen to your ears to tell you if something metal is buried.
An inexpensive beep and dig machine is all you really need out in the fields.
An easy peasy no brainier if you ask me.

[painshill]

Hi Bruce
The button has to be post 1908 since the regiment didn’t become known as the “Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry” until then (before that it was just known as the “Oxfordshire Light Infantry”). It’s not possible to date it more precisely, except to say that the regiment disappeared when it was merged with the Rifle Brigade and the Kings Royal Rifle Corps in 1958.
As for the ID tag, there is a “Medal Card” record for Private John Rowley under regiment number 16097 for the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry in the UK National Archives. That doesn’t mean that he necessarily had any bravery awards… the record might just be for long service, good conduct or campaign medals. Unfortunately, although you can view the records for free by visiting the National Archive in London, you have to pay a small fee to download them on the web. The entry is here if you want to track it any further:

http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D4969012#!/D4969012

It also shows that he has medal record entries as a Private in the Royal Fusiliers, so presumably he switched regiments or was transferred (but not as a promotion). Since he was issued with a new number (97268) we can be sure that happened before 1920 because in that year the army introduced a new system for issuing numbers to personnel. Up to that date, each regiment (or unit within it) issued its own numbers – sometimes with prefix letters - such as the GS (General Service) prefix on his final record entry. After that date, every serviceman/woman had a longer unique number that they kept if they changed regiments.
The ‘8 OBLI’ likely means he was in the 8th Battalion of the regiment, which was a Pioneer battalion and wasn’t formed until October 1914. The coin is a Greek “Lepton” (a fraction of the Drachma), which came in multiples of 1, 2 , 5 and 10 (100 Lepta = 1 Drachma) in different sizes, with the 1 Lepton being about 15mm diameter. That would make some sense because the Battalion embarked for Greece at the end of 1915 and saw action there from the beginning of 1916 to the end of the war.
Can’t help with any Canadian connection relevant to those time periods as far as the regiment is concerned. I would guess the connections to be of a family or personal nature (an immigrant family that weren’t naturalized Canadian citizens perhaps).

[2ndoldman]

Thank you for the information Roger I will be emailing the information to Micheal very shortly. He is a huge military buff and will appreciate the information you have given.