Topic: Information on the British 8th Army, please.

[Anne]

Just for anyone who doesn't know, the TDA consists of scans of the actual newspaper from the dates given, not transcripts or summaries, so that is just as it was reported at the time. Of course the reporter could have got it wrong as Ray suggests....  hence our puzzlement.

[Della]

Ok, maybe a little late in the day, but does anyone have any ideas which factory this ashtray came from?

Still no word, or information from the email that I sent. Sorry, Marcus  :cry:

Della
xx

[Bernard C]

Della — at some risk of rekindling passions caused by my poor choice of a word earlier in this topic, here goes:-

I believe that Wood Bros of Barnlsey is a strong possibility, for three reasons:-

1. As manufacturers of laboratory glassware, they were probably in a better situation to cut the mould and produce this souvenir in 1945 than most pressed glass factories, many involved in quite different wartime production.

2. The style of the ashtray is typical of Wood Brothers pressed glass, judging by the few examples fully attributed.

3. From memory it looks as if the same set of punches was used for the lettering on this ashtray as for other attributed Wood Bros commemoratives and souvenirs.

I can't confirm the third reason until I unpack my glass in about three weeks time, after the house decorators have gone, and just before the Stourbridge fair.

I think the most likely reason for the scarcity of your ashtray is that it is an error that escaped being smashed.    I've never seen another, and I judge from the responses here that no-one else has.

Bernard C. 

[Della]

Thank you, Bernard 

[Bernard C]

... and 4. It was not replaced as the error was not noticed until too late — possibly after shipping to Berlin for the celebrations!

B. C. 

[Anne]

Hi Bernard, we did find mention of another one exactly the same on another forum, but likewise mo-one had added more info to it, so unless Della somehow bought the one which this other person had, there could be two in existence.