This Feb,1960 WL25 come in yesterday. The hanging ring is not original, it is the bottom of a deceased EX4 and does not have any feet yet. Then things got out of hand.
...Hi Antony!.........Your lamps look very happy there!.... ...also nice to see them just cleaned and natural... in their 'workclothes'... ...Could i ask about the lamp second from the left in the last shot........is that a steel fount/base at all?.... ........also could you tell us what is written on the small plate there please? Many thanks, T.
PB, it does have an all steel fount. Goose neck and control cock are brass. The decal I think says, " Important This container is made of tinned steel and must be emptied and dried by gentle heat monthly or before any period of disuse. Always use funnel when filling." Neil, thanks for the date on that. Did the plate go to about 1945 or am I remembering wrong ?
Hi ! .....I thought it might say that but thought it too cheeky to ask for a close up photo!... ...You should post it in the reference gallery with close up pics like that one... ...I think it's a great lamp Antony!..
Seems reasonable considering that a few other lamps with that shape tank were made of steel around the war years. I know of the PL53 and TL14 of course and there were probably more.
The steel tank was made from around 1938 as I understand it because the MoD wanted a more robust lamp tank and not because of brass shortages. During WW2 of course brass was hard to find and quite a few tanks were steel. I have seen steel in R1 tanks as well as the lamps mentioned. I don't know how long that oval plate was used. 1938 for sure as I can date it on my Hospital lamp. Not sure it was ever used on any others so I suspect a batch made in 1938 to 1940 only but I would not be surprised to find it was continued through the war period. ::Neil::
