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"Over There... In the Air"
lordmarcovan
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"Over There... In the Air"
World War I Royal Flying Corps identity disc made from 1916 British half crown
Larger obverse picture
Larger reverse picture
Obverse: planed off and engraved "2ND A.M. / ARTHUR PERRY. / 33274 /R.F.C.". Reverse: Original coat of arms design, unaltered. Ex- "acsb-rich", eBay, 11/25/2015.
A historically interesting subset within the collecting of engraved coins are the pieces that were made into identity discs ("dog tags") during the First World War, which fall under the more general category called "trench art". Often these World War I pieces were made with French silver 1- and 2-franc coins as hosts, but this example was engraved on a larger British silver coin- a 1916 half crown. Furthermore, the serviceman, 2nd Air Mechanic Arthur Perry, #33274, served with the Royal Flying Corps, the forerunner of the Royal Air Force. So this piece has a somewhat less common host coin and an early aviation provenance, which is great.
Wikipedia link: Royal Flying Corps
I am an enthusiast of "love tokens" and pieces like this because one can wistfully say, "ah, if this could only talk". Some of these engraved coins actually do talk- or at least whisper- little bits of their history.
What do we know of 2nd Air Mechanic Arthur Perry? Only a few things. He was born in London, Middlesex, England, in 1883, so he would have been about 33 years old when the coin above was minted, and no older than 35 when the engraving was done. (We can date the engraving to between 1916- the host coin's date- and 1918- when the RFC was absorbed into the RAF.) Arthur Perry married a woman named Edith in 1914 and his RFC appointment was as a sailmaker, so he would have worked on repairing the fabric that covered the aircraft of the time.
Below is a period photograph a Royal Flying Corps repair shop, from the Imperial War Museum collection. I tried finding a picture of an RFC sailmaker at work, but most of the pictures I saw of fabric-on-frame work being done was from the factories, with largely women workers. I saw some references to one IWM photo collection that sounded interesting, but it isn't online. Interestingly- but probably only coincidentally due to the spelling variance- that collection was under the name "PARRY, ARTHUR".
Edit: thanks to "dadams" for helping to refine and focus the research on this piece.
Engraved/Counterstamped/Oddball Type Set
World War I Royal Flying Corps identity disc made from 1916 British half crown
Larger obverse picture
Larger reverse picture
Obverse: planed off and engraved "2ND A.M. / ARTHUR PERRY. / 33274 /R.F.C.". Reverse: Original coat of arms design, unaltered. Ex- "acsb-rich", eBay, 11/25/2015.
A historically interesting subset within the collecting of engraved coins are the pieces that were made into identity discs ("dog tags") during the First World War, which fall under the more general category called "trench art". Often these World War I pieces were made with French silver 1- and 2-franc coins as hosts, but this example was engraved on a larger British silver coin- a 1916 half crown. Furthermore, the serviceman, 2nd Air Mechanic Arthur Perry, #33274, served with the Royal Flying Corps, the forerunner of the Royal Air Force. So this piece has a somewhat less common host coin and an early aviation provenance, which is great.
Wikipedia link: Royal Flying Corps
I am an enthusiast of "love tokens" and pieces like this because one can wistfully say, "ah, if this could only talk". Some of these engraved coins actually do talk- or at least whisper- little bits of their history.
What do we know of 2nd Air Mechanic Arthur Perry? Only a few things. He was born in London, Middlesex, England, in 1883, so he would have been about 33 years old when the coin above was minted, and no older than 35 when the engraving was done. (We can date the engraving to between 1916- the host coin's date- and 1918- when the RFC was absorbed into the RAF.) Arthur Perry married a woman named Edith in 1914 and his RFC appointment was as a sailmaker, so he would have worked on repairing the fabric that covered the aircraft of the time.
Below is a period photograph a Royal Flying Corps repair shop, from the Imperial War Museum collection. I tried finding a picture of an RFC sailmaker at work, but most of the pictures I saw of fabric-on-frame work being done was from the factories, with largely women workers. I saw some references to one IWM photo collection that sounded interesting, but it isn't online. Interestingly- but probably only coincidentally due to the spelling variance- that collection was under the name "PARRY, ARTHUR".
Edit: thanks to "dadams" for helping to refine and focus the research on this piece.
Engraved/Counterstamped/Oddball Type Set
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Comments
Your Arthur Perry:
Perry, Arthur - Air Force (RAF/RFC), Service #33274 (SAILMAKER)
Arthur Perry was born in London, Middlesex, United Kingdom in 1883
Arthur Perry married Edith in 1914 (29th August 1914)
Source: (Arthur Perry)
The sail makers shop 'was staffed by a sergeant and three men. The work consisted of the making of fabric fuselage covers, covering planes, elevators, rudders etc., all kinds of canvas work, rope work, upkeep of canvas hangars, lorry covers and regimental tailoring.'
(RFC Early Years)
That is very interesting LordM,
Your Arthur Perry:
Perry, Arthur - Air Force (RAF/RFC), Service #33274 (SAILMAKER)
Arthur Perry was born in London, Middlesex, United Kingdom in 1883
Arthur Perry married Edith in 1914 (29th August 1914)
Source: (Arthur Perry)
The sail makers shop 'was staffed by a sergeant and three men. The work consisted of the making of fabric fuselage covers, covering planes, elevators, rudders etc., all kinds of canvas work, rope work, upkeep of canvas hangars, lorry covers and regimental tailoring.'
(RFC Early Years)
Fantastic! Thank you!
So it turns out I had already stumbled across him in cyberspace but got confused.
I appreciate the clarification.
I'll have to update the OP and maybe find a different picture, later tonight when I'm not on a mobile device.)
My YouTube Channel
Also, thanks for bumping this, Terry.
Look how ajaan can type a single nonsense word ("hyujub") in a post and it gets ten replies, but my meticulous thread with a cool coin and some history sinks like a stone. You'd think we were on the Liteside or something. Maybe I should have put something controversial in here or started a flame war to get more attention?
PS- I should add that "Over There... In the Air" refers to the song "Over There", which was a hit during that era, but it is an American song about how "The Yanks Are Coming". And we don't know for sure if 2nd A.M. Perry was "over there" in France or stayed in Britain. A more appropriate song for the British in WW1 would be "It's a Long Way to Tipperary", but I went with "Over There... In the Air" for the sake of a short, snappier title that rhymes. I have fun coming up with titles for these various love token posts, as you'll see if you click the link to my small but growing collection.