Question about Canadian WWII Mess Tins...

Hey Cliff,

You might check to make sure that your camera is set for close objects...

I believe your tin was made by the Metal Box Company, Limited of London.

Here is the logo of the English firm stamped on a 1941 mess tin.


Here it is on a 1943 megaphone.


Here is another similar stamp for the Indian branch of the Metal Box Company, Limited (of Bombay or Calcutta) on an Indian-made Pattern 1937 strap.


Lastly, here is the Indian firm stamped on some Indian-made mess tins.

As for Mike's tin...

It might have been made by Edward Smith, Limited of Staffordshire. Though this is just a guess...

http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Edward_Smith

I find the iPhone takes excellent close up shots

I have several mess tins in my collection that have come with identified WWII kit groupings. None of these are dated but all are C Arrow marked. I have included photos of one of my favourites. Notice how this one has been trimmed down to nearly half its height so this guy wouldn't lug around any extra weight. Also notice his initial beside the C arrow. You can just make out a piece of the wear ever logo. Interesting as well the tin has an Italian army spoon in it.  I have seen all the Canadian makers mentioned in this thread with C arrow marks, except for the CCB made ones. I first noticed these appearing in surplus stores in the 1980's and at that time they were all unissued and in paper wrappers. For me personally, I consider them to be post war pieces.

Thank you very much for sharing Ypres, your insight is greatly appreciated!

I really wish I could find a photo of Canadian troops in Canada (circa 1940-41) with mess tins, so I can figure out the appropriate type for my Hong Kong impression!

You know the rectangular messtins were introduced by the British in April 1939 and that WWI vintage D shaped messtins were still being used when the first Canadians went to the UK in late 1939. Your image was taken in Canada in 1941 and at that time every bit of clothing and equipment in the image was at that time being made in Canada, except perhaps rifles and bayonets which were WWI left-overs, so I cannot see any reason why messtins would be an exception.

I just picked up a CCB marked mess kit, are they aluminum?

Thanks Ed! It would stand to reason that the Canadian-made aluminum mess tins in this thread were in use as early as 1940-41 and would therefore be appropriate for my Hong Kong kit! (I know the No.4 in the emoticon is anachronistic for this battle lol)
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Hey Darktrooper,

The CCB mess tins I have seen are made of aluminum, though, as ypres points out above, they may be of later production than the other makers. I see 'CCB' stamped on a lot of brass button sticks as well and I have always wondered what company it was...perhaps Canadian Copper & Brass?

Wgrenadier wrote:Thanks Ed! It would stand to reason that the Canadian-made aluminum mess tins in this thread were in use as early as 1940-41 and would therefore be appropriate for my Hong Kong kit! (I know the No.4 in the emoticon is anachronistic for this battle lol)
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Hey Darktrooper,

The CCB mess tins I have seen are made of aluminum, though, as ypres points out above, they may be of later production than the other makers. I see 'CCB' stamped on a lot of brass button sticks as well and I have always wondered what company it was...perhaps Canadian Copper & Brass?

Wgrenadier:

I read somewhere aluminum wasn't magnetic so I took a couple refrigerator magnets to the CCB tins and they slid right off, so good bet they are aluminum. My tins are exactly like the CCB marked tin you posted at the beginning of the thread.

Hey Darktrooper,

It should be aluminum, and if you got the same mess tin as the ones in those pictures then it certainly is in good condition!

I did some research into the letters shown on the Duro mess tins, 'W.D.S. & CO.'...



and I came across the following article from a 1921 copy of The American Machinist...

Just to sum up, here are the Canadian makers identified so far and their company information...

Finally, a set of dated Canadian-made mess tins! lol





At least we can surmise that tins by this maker were from the 40s...

These tins were used by the Dutch following the war and issued to their army in the late 1940's early '50's. The MvO, stands for "Ministerie van Oorlog" ... and was stamped by the Dutch after they took possession of the tin and is not a Canadian date mark.

Great buy, never seen any like that before.

I knew MvO was some postwar European marking, but I didn't know it referred to the Dutch! Thanks Ypres! I have a large pack with the exact same stamp.

48th - These tins aren't mine, I just found the pictures and thought I would share them here! They are an interesting set for sure!

Here's a stumper...

I came across this aluminum tin stamped "S.I.CO. - 1941" on both a New Zealand museum site and a New Zealand auction site where it was paired with a Canadian Duro tin. I'm not really sure where it was made, but it has a welded handle (which is apparently very difficult to do with aluminum).

I don't think it is an English, perhaps it could be a locally produced New Zealand example?
Has anyone encountered this maker in Canada or have any suggestions?

Having done my share of welding aluminum I can say with confidence that it's not that difficult.... not sure how this is relevant but thought I would dispel this common misperception.

That's good to know, thanks for sharing!

It must have still been more labor intensive, or expensive, than simply placing 3 rivets...

That Mess Tin does not look like a repair as I cannot see any rivet holes in the top photo.

Wgrenadier wrote:That's good to know, thanks for sharing!  

It must have still been more labor intensive, or expensive, than simply placing 3 rivets...

Definitely. More skill and specialized equipment is required compared to rivets so it makes sense to use rivets to keep the costs low.

I guess CCB was around in 1939, even if they weren't necessarily producing mess tins...

Here is a 1941 aluminum megaphone that is currently on eBay, it clearly shows that Aluminum Goods, Limited of Toronto was making aluminum products very early in the war...

Another mess tin cover on the request of Mike. I found this example between several hundred used British mess tin covers (some even have rust marks of the handles of the mess tins on the inside) A lot did not have any markings any more, but the dated ones where from 1938 to 1940. It was the only Canadian one I came across.

Great cover! Thanks for posting Sullivan!

It shows that 'WOODS MFG. CO. LTD.' made these covers in along with 'TAPATCO'.