Trench art fashioned from a discharged German 7.7 cm artillery shell case.
Production date
1914
Country
Germany
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Object detail
Description
Brass shell case bearing the heraldic badge of the Prince of Wales. Headstamps indicate that this was made at the Rheinmetall AG munitions factory in Dusseldorf in December 1914.
Classification
ARMS & ARMOUR Ammunition, metal cartridge centre fire
ARMS & ARMOUR Ordnance ammunition breach loading
ARMS & ARMOUR Ordnance cartridge
ARMS & ARMOUR Ordnance shell
ARMS & ARMOUR Ordnance ammunition breach loading
ARMS & ARMOUR Ordnance cartridge
ARMS & ARMOUR Ordnance shell
Production date
1914
Production place
Measurements
H229 mm. Base dia 91 mm. Neck dia 80 mm.
Media/Materials description
Brass
Signature/Marks
St \ Rh M F \ 111 \ DEZ 1914 \ DUSSELDORF \ SFo
ICH DIEN \ THE WELSH
Shell case for \ flowers. \ Belonged to Dean Barrett.\ WWI. Grandfather took Helen's \ father (from War) \ to Norway. Another relative took \ niece to meet Stanley Green … … to Helen's mum
ICH DIEN \ THE WELSH
Shell case for \ flowers. \ Belonged to Dean Barrett.\ WWI. Grandfather took Helen's \ father (from War) \ to Norway. Another relative took \ niece to meet Stanley Green … … to Helen's mum
History and use
This object is from the Helen Barrett collection, which was donated to Queensland Museum in 2014. Miss Helen Barrett worked as a nurse with the Australian Board of Mission in Solomon Islands from 1947 until 1984. Barrett was based at Tasia in Isabel Province, and Maravovo on Guadalcanal before being stationed at the Hospital of the Epiphany at Fauabu, Malaita from 1968 until 1984. In the 1990s, Barrett worked with the Mothers Union in the Torres Strait Islands. Her collection largely comprises of objects that were presented as gifts over the course of her missionary work in Melanesia.
The headstampings on this shell case indicates that it was manufactured in 1914 at Rheinische Munitionsfabrik Düsseldorf. The piece belonged to Helen Barrett's father, W E C Barrett who served as a chaplain with the British Expeditionary Forces from 1917 to 1919.
Artillery was a defining technology on the Western Front, where combatants were often entrenched. Sustained artillery barrages were both destructive, and demoralising.
The workhorse of the Germany’s artillery arsenal was the 7.7cm Feldkanone 96 n.A, more than 5,000 of which were eventually produced. This particular cartridge would have been fired by one of these 7.7cm Feldkanones.
The headstampings on this shell case indicates that it was manufactured in 1914 at Rheinische Munitionsfabrik Düsseldorf. The piece belonged to Helen Barrett's father, W E C Barrett who served as a chaplain with the British Expeditionary Forces from 1917 to 1919.
Artillery was a defining technology on the Western Front, where combatants were often entrenched. Sustained artillery barrages were both destructive, and demoralising.
The workhorse of the Germany’s artillery arsenal was the 7.7cm Feldkanone 96 n.A, more than 5,000 of which were eventually produced. This particular cartridge would have been fired by one of these 7.7cm Feldkanones.
Registration number
H48829
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