REMINISCENT OF WAR

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 714, 13 July 1929, Page 11

REMINISCENT OF WAR

INK-STAND FASHIONED FROM TURKISH SHELL PRESENTATION TO MUSEUM

Fashioned from a Turkish shell case and six cartridges, an inkstand and pen rack, unusual memento of the Great War in the East, is to be presented to the War Memorial Museum. thing is reminiscent of war . f *>nd eyes are tired of looking at it,” remarked the donor, Mr. James \\ ilson, 15 Mason’s Avenue, Herne Bay, before handing it in to the curator’s hands. “It is a grand relic, however, and shows the skill of the boy who made it.” Supported by six polished cartridges, a ring of metal forms a base in which sits an ingenious ink-well made from the nose of a “dud” shell. The base of the stand is surmounted by a crescent and three stars, also made from the casing of the shell. Four bullets iirmly fastened to the horns of

the crescent serve as a pen-rack. As the donor observes, the curio is “stamped in every link.” At the base of each bullet there is a clear crescent imprint. On that part of the shell-case used as the support for the pen-rack, the rifling is visible. The soft metal nose of the shell is slightly dented on one side where it struck the desert sand and failed to explode. The history of this little triumph of workmanship is as interesting as its appearance. It was made while the New Zealand contingent was on active service in Mesopotamia. The name of the maker is not known, but it is certain that the work in it took many an hour of his spare time. The inkstand was presented by its owner as a prize at a military sports meeting held in the desert, and another New Zealand soldier won it and brought it home, giving it to a member of Mr. Wilson’s family. It has been in his possession for 10 years.