Our new fence , rather ordinary really but it replaced a poor and straggly hedge and took quite a bit of work in removing the old hedge and it's roots . The soil needs levelling and tidying but the wet weather has made it rather sticky so it will have to wait till it dries out . Whilst the fence building was going on I found buried -
A little lead soldier ! here he is cleaned up , he seems to be in WW2 British Battledress and standing at attention . There are traces of paint on him and is rather a crude casting .
He is about 54mm (2") scale , I'm not sure where he has come from , my parents moved into the house in about 1946 shortly after it was built and I have lived here all my life and can't remember ever owning him as a child so he is a bit of a mystery , but he will stand guard on my painting tray from now on .
Handsome fence and a great discovery! The figurine must be an omen. Of what, I know not.
ReplyDeleteThink it had been there a long time , Tony
DeleteWell, seems like all that work was worth it then!
ReplyDeleteOh, yes, nice fence too!
I'm intrigued by the figure haven't seen one like it before , Tony
DeleteGood to see that a long term career veteran finally gets rewarded for all those years of service with the retirement he deserves!
ReplyDeleteYes he's been undercover for to long ! , Tony
DeleteHe looks very like some that were made by my maternal grandfather; he worked at Vickers Armstrong in Elswick between the wars. From what I recall they were cast in lead during his breaks. His were more WW1 and saluting. I have a single figure of several made. Perhaps yours is similar?
ReplyDeleteLooks home cast but has traces of brown and green paint on it , Tony
DeleteI don't like to say but your fence doesn't look completely straight. No criticsim just an observation!
ReplyDeleteThe panels slot into the concrete posts and were newly 'tanalised'- so wet when we put them up , need to dry out and be readjusted for height and the deviate at the far end because of tree roots - but that's a secret , Tony
DeleteA stout fence, and cracking view in the distance too. Nice to live in the same house all your life.... must feel very rooted.
ReplyDeleteNot many people stay in the same house these days - very Victorian ! , Tony
DeleteWhat a great find!
ReplyDeleteBit of history , Tony
DeleteYour soldier reminds me of the days back in the 50s when we children, along with our cousin, were sent for the day round to granny's during the school holidays (both parents working). He and I (not letting my three sisters in) would dig trenches and dugouts all over the garden, to granddad's annoyance, and then bombard the troops in them with great lumps of earth. Many a fellow disappeared into the mud.
ReplyDeleteI suspect that could have happened to my soldier as well , Tony
DeleteTony,
ReplyDeleteGood looking fence - your picture looks very Rural...guess there will be a nice flower bed added. Digging up the little Soldier is indeed something rare- looks to be a WW1 British Infantryman. Cheers. KEV.
Yes we are quite rural it was a lucky find ! , Tony
DeleteI was idly poking about Rose's guide and I think this fellow looks like he might have been made over here by the London Toy Company (London Ontario) They produced a small range of rather crude figures at attention during the war years, no doubt a response to shortages as British factories got diverted.
ReplyDeleteThanks for that info , it ties in with the age of the house which was built just after the war , my mother and father moved in on hid demob in 1946 I think . Tony
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