WW1 British 18 Pounder Artillery Brass Shell Case Primer Protector Cap Somme Relic (B36)

This is a British WW1 brass artillery shell casing’s primer protector cap relic. It was bought from a traditional French brocante fair in the Somme region of France. It has some faded markings but the words 18 PDR and some other letters are visible.

These types of base protectors were positioned on the end of a rimmed brass shell casing to protect against accidental punctures (which would cause detonation) during transit and before intended use. These were easy to install as three sides had a groove which slid over the rim on the brass casing; the fourth arm was spring loaded to prevent it from coming off. Both the end of the shell was protected and the fuse was also protected.  Once the shell arrived safely to wherever it was needed these were removed and discarded. The shell was then were prepped for use once these were removed. these were collected together, like with the shell casings, for reuse/recycling, however perhaps these were damaged or missed by people collecting them up and so were left behind. They crop up fairly often on brocante and militaria fairs in the area. Relics from WW1 are still being found today, even over 100 years later, by farmers across the Battlefields of the Somme. See the militaria section of our website here for more like this or visit our home page shop selling over 300 unique, vintage and up cycled French finds for your home and garden, all sourced from markets and militaria fairs across France. 

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measures 11cm x 11cm

🚚Free tracked postage is by Yodel or Royal Mail for mainland UK, including Highlands and Islands. Unfortunately, this item cannot be posted to Northern Ireland or shipped internationally.