Posted 12 years ago
catherineb…
(1 item)
this blanket is believed to have belonged my great uncle Ronald Poulton Palmer who died in the trenches (Ploegstreet) in 1915 He had captained the England rugby team and shared his memorial service at Rugby school with Rupert Brooke. I am trying discover whether it was an army issue (he was in the Berkshire Infantry) or where it might have come from It is 5'2 inches square and has tassles with a distinctive check on one side Perhaps he owned it and took it with him Someone has suggested it was a motoring rug? It has the Burberry colours but i dont think it has any connection with Burberry although they designed the trench coats for the officers It has a name tape on it with R....P....N Could it have been a school blanket? (The Palmer name was added later) Any ideas
I am very glad that you have this to remember your great uncle by. This one will be a hard one, but there are some very well informed 'militarists' on this site who might well be able to help. I almost didn't click on this item, but I saw that mrmajestic had loved it so I knew that it deserved a look. (Hard to see from the 1st photo what this is. Some things are hard to photograph.) I hope someone identifies this for you soon. But if not, here are the names of some of the 'militarists': scottvez, Chrisnp, militarist, blunderbuss, AR8Jason, Petey. Petey is from the UK. Best wishes for success!
British army issue blankets of the period were generally grey, but this does not preclude your blanket from being used in the trenches in 1915:
http://www.britishpathe.com/video/blankets-for-the-army/query/homefront
I agree with chris.
It doesn't look like an issue item to me. It could have been a private purchase blanket sent to him-- given the moniker of his "army blanket" because it was used by him during his army time.
scott