Two more No.36M Mk.1 Mills... Latest additions

[staples57]

Here are two more No.36M Mk.1 Mills Bombs that I've recently added to my collection.

A Canadian No. 36M Mk. 1 Mills... Ashtray
"C" on the front of the casting and "Chatco" on the lever. Chatham Co., manufactured in Chatham Ontario Canada.
1944 Dated "S. Joseph Stokes Rubber Co." Base Plug
Still has traces of the red X's and green paint markings

A British No. 36M Mk. 1 Mills...
"M" on the front of the casting, Morum & Co. London
"FW" on the lever for Frost & Woods, Canada
...I'll need to mate it back up with a matching British lever
1942 Dated "S. Joseph Stokes Rubber Co." Base Plug
1943 Dated zinc center piece... odd date marking "19 (side-ways 3) 43"


Please correct me if I'm wrong with any of the info above.

Cheers,
Brad

 

[tommatt3]

Thank you, Brad... Your posting answered one of questions about my Mills No. 36M grenade before I even asked it!... The maker mark "M" is on the front of the body of my grenade also. Now I have an idea as to who the maker was. :tinysmile_shy_t:

 

[staples57]

Glad I could help!

In addition to the B.O.C.N., here are a couple of other great sites for information on Mills bombs as well as all things grenades...

www.millsgrenades.co.uk
www.paul-spence1964.com
www.lexpev.nl
members.shaw.ca/dwlynn/tgrm.htm
www.inert-ord.net/brit/index.html
​

You should post a few photos of your grens so that we can all drool over them.

Cheers,
Brad

Thank you, Brad... Your posting answered one of questions about my Mills No. 36M grenade before I even asked it!... The maker mark "M" is on the front of the body of my grenade also. Now I have an idea as to who the maker was. :tinysmile_shy_t:

 

[tommatt3]

Brad,.. I now also see that my No. 36M lever is marked 'F W", the same as yours. Perhaps components were procured from Canadian sub-contractors.

 

[staples57]

It is possible, however, my understanding is that manufacturers of Mills bombs made and shipped complete grenades (unfilled & non-fuzed). The bodies, levers and gas checks would be all marked for the same manufacturer.
...i.e. if the manufacturer is Frost & Woods, then the body, lever and gas check would all be marked "FW"

It's more likely that someone has added a Frost & Woods lever to a Morum & Co. casting that was missing a lever, to make it complete Mills bomb.

You may want to check the usual auction sites (don't forget www.specialistauctions.com) for a Morum & Co. lever. You may also want to create a new "Looking For..." thread in the B.O.C.N. Grenades forum. You may find a member that has a spare "M" lever that thy are willing to part with.

Just last weekend a friend showed me an excellent example of a Frost & Woods 36M Mk.1 Mills where the casting, lever & gas check were all marked "FW". and the center piece, base plug and gas check were all dated 1943. A matching Mills bomb in all respects.

In any case, I wouldn't worry about a mismatched casting & lever. If you're collecting Mills bombs, you'll eventually collect a few "spares" or possibly find an "M" lever on another mismatched casting.

You should post a few photos of your Mills.

Cheers,
Brad

Brad,.. I now also see that my No. 36M lever is marked 'F W", the same as yours. Perhaps components were procured from Canadian sub-contractors.

 

[gothica7]

Hi Brad.

it wasnt always the case that manufacturers made the complete article. Some did but not all. Some companies specialised in making certain parts such as levers or base plugs. this was true from the 1st WW onwards. For example, a company that specialised in the manufacture of zinc products[ie base plugs and centre tubes during WW2] would not necessarily have the ability to make the bodies nor would an iron works always be able to make the plugs. So to have a mish mash of makers doing the seperate parts and them be fitted onto a gren is quite common throughout both World Wars.
Most later grens[post War] had levers made and stamped ROF P, Royal Ordnance Factory, Patricroft and may have had the bodies made elsewhere.

Andy

 

[MissingSomething]

I would tend to agree with Andy that there could be a legitimate mismatch of parts..... I would think however that the grenades made either in Canada or the UK for example would/should have all the same "countries" parts, ie. all Canadian manufactures on a singe grenade.

just my 2 cents...

 

[gothica7]

I would tend to agree with Andy that there could be a legitimate mismatch of parts..... I would think however that the grenades made either in Canada or the UK for example would/should have all the same "countries" parts, ie. all Canadian manufactures on a singe grenade.

just my 2 cents...

I agree with you on that one bud,

i reccon all grens shipped from Canada, Australia and New Zealand would have been shipped complete, filled but without dets although these may have been packed seperatly.
During WW1 as the need for 'bombs' was so great initially that huge factories were set up just for the assembling of grens from their component parts which came from all over the country.

Andy

 

[staples57]

Interesting, thanks for the additional info.
...just goes to show you that you learn something new every day

Cheers,
Brad

 

[Millsman]

Brad

Your 36 with M on the front is not a Morum & Co Ltd Grenade. They were Marked M&Co /L.

Morums went out of business in 1919 and the factory was sold off. 36's with an M are from an unknown WW2 maker.

John

 

[gothica7]

Here are two more No.36M Mk.1 Mills Bombs that I've recently added to my collection.

A Canadian No. 36M Mk. 1 Mills... Ashtray
"C" on the front of the casting and "Chatco" on the lever. Chatham Co., manufactured in Chatham Ontario Canada.
1944 Dated "S. Joseph Stokes Rubber Co." Base Plug
Still has traces of the red X's and green paint markings

A British No. 36M Mk. 1 Mills...
"M" on the front of the casting, Morum & Co. London
"FW" on the lever for Frost & Woods, Canada
...I'll need to mate it back up with a matching British lever
1942 Dated "S. Joseph Stokes Rubber Co." Base Plug
1943 Dated zinc center piece... odd date marking "19 (side-ways 3) 43"


Please correct me if I'm wrong with any of the info above.

Cheers,
Brad

Hi Brad,

hope you are good, all ok here.

The Solitary M on the front of your gren is in fact a makers mark and i think it may be a Canadian maker, not Morum & Co as originally suggested. I reccon its Montreal Munitions so i think you have a pretty scarce [certainly over here] No 36 gren. I dont have any more info but maybe you could do some research your end.

Andy

 

[staples57]

Hi Andy,
Thanks for the follow-up. I haven't heard of "Montreal Munitions" before. Very interesting. I was under the impression (as I'm sure most collectors are) that "M" was for "Morum & Co". A rare bit of Canadian history, that's great.

All's well here, glad to hear that you are too.

Thanks Again,
Brad

Hi Brad,

hope you are good, all ok here.

The Solitary M on the front of your gren is in fact a makers mark and i think it may be a Canadian maker, not Morum & Co as originally suggested. I reccon its Montreal Munitions so i think you have a pretty scarce [certainly over here] No 36 gren. I dont have any more info but maybe you could do some research your end.

Andy

 

[Millsman]

morum

Brad

This is a WW1 Morum.

Note the mark M&Co / L. The L stands for Lewisham, South East London, where the factory was located.

John