Club Obi Wan

My Mk VI bag was used by a guy in the Royal Engineers unit.
Bufflehead Jones' new Mk VII bag was in the same unit carried by a guy named J Davies.


Locate your number if you have one, in our cases mentioned they are 2275433 and 2211499, and then visit this site in order to know just a little bit more about where your bag has been.

http://www.britishairborne.org/identity.html

EDIT: Ths one should work better http://www.airbornerecce.com/dtroop/tables/anumbers.htm

Pretty cool, huh?

Please report in with number and unit, adventurers!

Kind regards,
Swindiana

This is so cool! Ill have to check my bags and see if I have a number like that....

I J

My Mk-VII Bag is a Whitlley's,#23154987(Royal Corps of Signals).

My Mk-VI Bag is (Unknown),#22984395(Royal Engineers) belonging to W. Christopher,Service#11265552.

I can't make out what the stamps on the inside of the flap say. Is there any other way to make them more readable, different lighting (UV) or anything like that?

Marcus Petrius wrote:I can't make out what the stamps on the inside of the flap say. Is there any other way to make them more readable, different lighting (UV) or anything like that?

My best tip is to take digital photos under different light conditions of your flap and then use an editing program like Paint shop pro pr Photoshop in order to make it out. (Trace contour and such, or find all edges. You get the idea.)

Thanks Sheffield! I've just started doing some catalogueing, so this is very helpful!

Regards,
Swindiana

Here we go:

"W & G MK IV" "22724298" - Royal Engineers

my other MK VII "23131854" - Royal Corps of Signals

Interesting, but how did you guys find out the actual person that used the bag? Was the name written on the strap"

I J

Mine was written on the inside of the flap with his serial number.

IndianaJames wrote: Interesting, but how did you guys find out the actual person that used the bag? Was the name written on the strap
I J

Thanks for the reply!

On a Canadian bag of mine it was written on the strap with white paint and sometimes it is written on the inside of the flap in ink. A Mk VI of mine has a full London address on the small flap. I'm still looking for a way to find the soldiers name easily though. I'm sure it is filed in some archive but it would be great if there were some digital info one could read through. I'll let you know as I move along.

Regards,
Swindiana

egh, I don't get it.

mine is 22854248 but the numbers dont seem to go up to there, yet some of you have similar numbers. am I just dumb?

thanks!

David

edit: my other one is 23075126

Dave,
Not at all, your bags are.....

the first is from someone in the Royal Engineers, and your second bag is from the Royal Corps of signals. Hmm. I see a trend here.

Regards
James

Yes... But David's number has got 8 digits instead of 7.
His 8 digit numbers are not listed although my guess is IJ is right about the origin. I'll mail and ask them!

Regards,
Swindy

doh! I got funny numbers...

could these bags being unissued have anything to do with it? because they're in pristine condition. Zero wear or discoloration on either. Literally the only thing I can notice that doesn't make these mint, is that on one bag, the left button has a scuff on it--probably due to storage. maybe these bags were never issued, so the numbers never got registered? I've no go idea...

thanks for the help guys!

David

Does it have the Broad Arrow on it? If not and there are other stamps and it is mint; it is unissued.

Regards,
Swindiana

OK, here's some more info for the bag research. None of my MK VII's have any numbers on them, and the inside of one of the flaps is completely worn out. However, all three have names on the straps. Here's the pics. I'm not sure why the last one is so yellow. I guess a basement's not the best place to take pictures

Swindiana wrote:Does it have the Broad Arrow on it? If not and there are other stamps and it is mint; it is unissued.

oh, there goes that theory then. one has a 25 with arrow pointing up, and one has 22 with arrow.... what's that mean?

thanks!

David

The bottom of this site explains it all:
http://www.britishairborne.org/enfield.html

Regards,
Swindiana

Swindiana wrote:The bottom of this site explains it all:
http://www.britishairborne.org/enfield.html

Regards,
Swindiana

It says "Best viewed in 860x600 on Internet Explorer" I don't get it. :


Just kidding....That's a cool site. Thanks for the link.

Swindiana wrote:Does it have the Broad Arrow on it? If not and there are other stamps and it is mint; it is unissued.

Regards,
Swindiana

So if it has a broad arrow, it's issued.
And if it doesn't have a broad arrow, it's unissued?

Just wanna make sure I'm reading you right.

So if it has a broad arrow, it's issued.

Yes. I believe some of the issued ones perhaps was never used in the war though as there are mint bags out there that have them. The broad arrow indicates that it was marked as OK by the government to be used as war material.

And if it doesn't have a broad arrow, it's unissued?

Correct. Some of the stamps may have faded on the issued bags through wear and tear though and in most cases the broad arrow stamp seem to have been made with an ink of lesser quality than the manufacturer stamp. The conclusion must be: If you have a mint bag with no arrow -your bag was never issued.

A bit confusing... I know.

Regards,
Swindiana

any news on the 8-digit thing? I'm very curious.

thanks!

David

Nothing yet. ASAP, I'll let you know.

Regards,
Swindiana

mep! anything now?

I can't get a reply from them. The quest goes on. I know of a few others that should have an answer.

Regards,
Swindiana

*BUMP*

New location since the old one seems to be down:

http://www.airbornerecce.com/dtroop/tables/anumbers.htm

No sign of yours though, David.

Regards,
Swindiana

Thanks for the info Swindiana!