Empty 6 pounder artillery shell case
Date made: mid 20th century
Description: Brass shell case inscribed with autographs in pencil and varnished over. The first shell fired by Home Guard artillery and possibly the first shell fired by artillery on the island for over 100 years. On the base is stamped a date 1918 along with '6 PDR III' (Six pounder mark 3), a War Office arrow and a Lot number relating to the contract for the supply of the batch. Letter 'I' in a circle could be a manufacturer's stamp.
On the side stencilled in black are '6 PR' a different lot number, Mk VI and the date '9-18'. '42' at the top may be another date. The signitures under the varnish are mostly illegible but the following can be read:
... Brigg
R.N.Reid
Bdr Cubbon
Gnr Kermode
The shell was almost certainly fired by a First World War era Hotchkiss naval 6 pounder which like many others was used for coastal defence on the Isle of Man in WW2 (the exact location remains uncertain). It was probably manned by Home Guard personnel as there was no 'Home Guard Artillery' as such.
Measurements: overall: 31 x 8 cm
Materials: brass
Object name: Shell Case
Collection: Social History Collection
ID Number: 1954-5508