Many of you will have seen the recent thread here from Jame Grand whose mother had inherited the stove from a friend as they had no known family. The stove had been the friends father's (205398 PTE A. Bolingbroke) who served in WW1 in the Tank Corps. Included with the stove were photos & his War & Victory medals, pictured below. I have agreed to be the stoves temporary custodian & would very much like to find a museum that would take it. The Tank Museum is the first I'll approach. They don't accept all donations so open to other suggestions. I don't have access to any ancestry websites so if anyone does & would like to add any further info please do so below.
Alfred Bolinbroke, 205398, Tank Corps. What follows is what remain of Alfred Bolinbroke's WW1 enlistment, training and service records. In most cases army records from WW1 only consist of the medal cards. This was because of the destruction of most WW1 records due to the bombing of the Army records depository during WW2. Only a very small percentage of the records survived, including many that were partially burnt. In more recent years efforts have been made to conserve and make available the so-called 'burnt records'. Miraculously Alfred Bolinbroke's records were amongst the saved partially burnt papers: Interesting to note that in that final medal entitlement assessment he is noted as 'Acting Corporal' even though still technically a 'Private'. @Spiritburner
Do I see this right? On the left side of the spirit cup is a screw. Is this a screw to release pressure in the tank?
@Spiritburner Ross, What a wonderful system, and history! Good on you for undertaking the care of this wonderful stove and documentation! I'm sure that some museum will happily become it's caretaker, and hope that it will be displayed with honor! Thanks for sharing, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Doc
I've approached the Tank Museum as the first obvious museum to take these items. About Us - The Tank Museum
Good call- it used to be a regular Easter holiday day out when I was young. It seems to remain pretty dynamic and well-regarded in an era when a lot of military museums are losing the plot somewhat. I'd hope there's a good chance this stove would make the collection and onto display, with the known history and a clear link to the realities of daily life in wartime.
Following their latest Collections Development meeting last week I'm really pleased to have had this response " I am delighted to say that the Museum would be very happy to accept Pte Bolingbroke's Collection into our Museum Collection. We are very grateful for your kind offer and for thinking of us."
