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Thompson Gun in British Service


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This evening, when looking for something else I stumbled upon this photo I had not seen before, so I thought I would share it with you all.

 

RAF Aerodrome Defence Corps at Whitley Bay 1942.jpg

 

The caption of the photo says it was taken in Whitley Bay, which is not far from where I spent some of my child hood, on the North East coast of England. I have many fond memories of day trips to Whitley Bay with my grand parents, when I was young. The British group Dire Straits had a hit song, (in the UK) called "Tunnel of Love", which immortalised the fair ground in Whitley Bay, (called the Spanish City), but I digress.

 

No doubt during WW2 the coastline was heavily fortified, indeed there is a rich history of coastal defences going back to Roman times and indeed, Hadrian's Wall ends not far from Whitey Bay, in aptly name Wallsend.

 

Stay safe

Richard

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Richard,

 

Do you have any idea when the pic was taken? Apparently it was before the British decided that L-drums were not a good idea. Lots of drums in that pic.

 

Roger

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My Grandmother (Gill, mothers side) lived in Newbiggin-by-sea.
I used to stay with her during summer vacation.
RAF Acklington is in that area, I visited it before it closed down.
My Mothers second husband was in the RAF Regiment, they had the mission for airfield defense.
My Dad was RNVR during WWII (RADAR and electronic repair)
At the beginning of the war he was in the LDV (Local Defense Volunteers) and remembered not wanting to be the guy who carried the Thompson drums!

Grandad Gill ( who served all the way thru both World Wars, including landing at Gallipolli) had his HQ in Seahouses (north east coast of Northumberland) early in WWII and was in charge of the defense of 200 miles of British coastline.

He didn't have much to work with, the Army built a whole lot of bunkers and a whole lot of decoys that looked impressive to German aerial reconnaissance.

Photo's like the one posted I think were meant to boost morale of the public during a time of a lot of worry & fear.

Richard

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Richard,

 

Do you have any idea when the pic was taken? Apparently it was before the British decided that L-drums were not a good idea. Lots of drums in that pic.

 

Roger

 

Roger,

The caption for the image, which are not always historically correct I have found, said it was taken in 1942. As these are for home front aerodrome protection, perhaps they continued to use drums, as they would not have the same issues that front line troops had using them tactically etc.?

Your digression regarding Dire Straits is appreciated by this fan.

Gary,

I did not know if Dire Straits were well known in the USA, I guess British music was quite global back in the day. So outside of TSMGs, we have another common 'interest'.

 

My Grandmother (Gill, mothers side) lived in Newbiggin-by-sea.

I used to stay with her during summer vacation.

RAF Acklington is in that area, I visited it before it closed down.

My Mothers second husband was in the RAF Regiment, they had the mission for airfield defense.

My Dad was RNVR during WWII (RADAR and electronic repair)

At the beginning of the war he was in the LDV (Local Defense Volunteers) and remembered not wanting to be the guy who carried the Thompson drums!

Grandad Gill ( who served all the way thru both World Wars, including landing at Gallipolli) had his HQ in Seahouses (north east coast of Northumberland) early in WWII and was in charge of the defense of 200 miles of British coastline.

He didn't have much to work with, the Army built a whole lot of bunkers and a whole lot of decoys that looked impressive to German aerial reconnaissance.

Photo's like the one posted I think were meant to boost morale of the public during a time of a lot of worry & fear.

 

Richard

 

 

 

Richard,

It is a small world I know the Newbiggin-by-the-Sea and Seahouses well, over the years, I often passed them on my way up to visit relatives in Scotland. The site of RAF Acklington is now a prison, an acquittance of mine has just retired from the prison service and that was the last prison he worked in.

 

Indeed, I agree with your last line, photos were often taken and published for propaganda purposes, by all sides during WW2.

 

Stay safe

Richard

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Richard,

That is a great picture! Thank you for sharing.

 

If I had known about this picture and could have found a little higher resolution, it would have been featured in, Great Britain - The Tommy Gun Story.

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Dire Straits was very popular here in the USA in the 1980's with a number of #1 hits. Great band.

 

As an owner of a British marked early Savage 1928, I really appreciate the picture!

 

I have the same gun. Mine is S-62648. Would be interested in exchanging pics, if you are interested. Like Dire

Straits too!

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Richard,

That is a great picture! Thank you for sharing.

 

If I had known about this picture and could have found a little higher resolution, it would have been featured in, Great Britain - The Tommy Gun Story.

 

Tom,

It was the first time I had seen that picture myself, when I stumbled upon it earlier in the week. No doubt there are many more pictures out there, waiting to be discovered.

 

Richard

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  • 2 weeks later...

I recently came across a tommy gun vertical foregrip here in Canada at a yard sale which I believe to be authentic because it has a british sling mount and Canadians used british weapons in ww2 and also I got it from a lady who said it was her grandpas and she had no idea what it even was so I bought it as a display piece since I knew it was from a Thompson and it feels high quality. I paid $1.00 so if anyone can tell me their opinions that would be helpful. I will post a few pics I just took but I have more pics If anyone wants to see.

post-262495-0-87273200-1576943001_thumb.jpg

post-262495-0-12568700-1576943029_thumb.jpg

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Congratulations. The vertical fore grip is definitely worth a dollar! Take a picture from the top showing us the long channel. Are there any markings inside the channel? Could you also measure the screw that came with the grip.

Thanks!

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