Trench art paper knife : Sapper S K Pearl, 5 Field Company Engineers, AIF Accession Number: RELAWM14147

Description

Trench art paper knife with a voided triangular copper blade, and a handle made from a French small arms cartridge, part of a rifle grenade and a French button. A copper map of Tasmania is attached to the handle.

Contextual Description

This paper knife is part of a collection of trench art made by 6756 Sapper Stanley Keith Pearl, a Tasmanian who served with 5 Field Company Engineers, AIF. He enlisted for service on 9 November 1915 and returned to Australia on 21 March 1919. Pearl subsequently moved to Canberra where he was employed as a carpenter by the Australian War Memorial. He supplied the following information anout the knife, 'Fashioned at Ypres in October 1916. The handle is a French cartridge thrown from a troop train; the map of Tasmania is a piece of petrol feed-pipe from a German Gotha [aircraft] brought down in the Salient; the handle base is the detonator well of a Hales rifle-grenade and a French button. Its blade is from a steam-pipe taken from a wrecked Decauville locomotive near Longueval, split and flattened.

Details

Accession Number
RELAWM14147
Classification
Heraldry
Object Type
Trench Art
Physical Description
Material: Brass; Copper; Steel
Measurement
Overall
Date Made
October 1916
Place Made
Whole/Part
Whole
Item Count
1
Copyright
Unlicensed copyright

Conflicts

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Tags

Accession RELAWM14147

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Record information

Last modified: 22 November 2024 - 4.20 am