Carlton Ware World: Tribute to WW1 - Part 3

March 2014
A tribute to all who died & suffered as a consequence of World War 1.

Part Three - Weapons

Shells

In Part Two we featured women munitions workers in shell factories. Carlton Ware made two models of shells, shown below. The one on the left was backstamped Model of Cannon Shell and the one on the right had Model of a British 15" Shell printed in fancy lettering on its back.

Left - Carlton China models of shells.
Right - Munitions workers painting shells at the National Shell Filling Factory at Chilwell in Nottinghamshire.

The French 75

Wiltshaw & Robinson, the makers of Carlton China, produced a model of the French 75mm field gun, shown on the left below.

The French was quick firing and is widely regarded as the first modern artillery weapon; it was still in use during World War Two.

A larger model of a similar field gun was also made, shown on the right below and possibly based on the 6" Howitzer.

Left - Carlton China model of the 'French 75' field gun.
Right - Carlton China model of a larger field gun and possibly based on the 6" Howitzer.

Below is a photograph of the French 75 in action at Gallipoli, Turkey in 1915. A crew of five was needed to operate the gun.

The French 75mm field gun at Cape Helles, Gallipoli peninsula, Turkey 1915.
A crew of five was needed to operate the gun.

The USA entered the war in April 1917 having remained neutral until then, though it had been an important supplier to Britain and other Allied powers. Below left is an American ordnance recruitment poster; on the right is a British poster from 1915 appealing for funds for shells through the issue of War Bonds.

American ordnance recruitment poster & British poster from 1915.

Left - American ordnance recruitment poster.
Right - British poster from 1915 appealing for funds for shells through the issue of War Bonds.

Some of the American recruitment posters were very dynamic and modern, such as the one below by P N Leyendecker.

American World War 1 Navy recruiting poster by P N Leyendecker.

Left - Cannon from about 1830. Right - Carlton China Model of British Trench Mortar.

"Trench Mortar"

A Carlton China model of what was called a British Trench Mortar was also made. It was based on a cannon from at least 100 years earlier - its small wheels would have been of no use in the mud of the battlefields and more at home on the gun decks of a galleon.

British Machine Gun

Contemporary with the war was the Carlton China Model of a British Machine Gun, shown below. This appears to have been based on the Vickers machine gun, which was in service from before the First World War until 1968.

The gun typically required a six to eight-man team to operate it; one fired, one fed the ammunition, the rest helped to carry the weapon, its ammunition and spare parts.

Left - Vickers machine gun. Right - Two views of a Carlton China Model of a British Machine Gun.

Below are two more American posters; the one on the left appeals to US citizens to keep their war savings pledge to help. The picture on the right is a recruitment poster for the US Navy.

US Treasury
poster for War Savings Stamps; Recruitment poster for the US Navy.

Left - US Treasury poster for War Savings Stamps 1917.
Right - Recruitment poster for the US Navy.

British Naval Gun

A model of a British Naval Gun was also made in Carlton China and is shown below. This was probably based on a small naval gun as used on merchant ships and not the much larger guns on battleships, as seen on the recruitment poster for the Royal Marines beneath.

Left - Recruitment poster for the Royal Marines from 1915.
Top Right - Carlton China Model of a British Naval Gun.
Bottom Right - Small naval gun mounted on the deck of a merchant ship.

The size of larger guns is apparent from the picture below, which shows the ships company on the fore deck of what is thought to be the battlecruiser HMS Lion, which was launched in 1910.

HMS Lion - Ship's Company on the fore deck.

British Hand Grenade

Finally, in this part of our tribute, is a weapon that will be familiar - the hand grenade. Many types were made but this one, shown below, endures in the memory. The Carlton China model had printed on its side British Hand Grenade in fancy lettering.

Left - Carlton China model of a British Hand Grenade. Right - A soldier throws a hand grenade.

Part 4, the next article, is on Battleships.