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Just received Vol 84 of "The Thompson Legend", Great Time appears to have been had by all, indeed some of those displays have given me ideas for my future presentations over here in the UK. Thank you Tracie

Thanks Tracie, I'll look out for it on Amazon.co.uk, shipping from the US is expensive these days.

Tracie, I'm presuming your book has been updated with fresh information since Gordons 6th edition of the 'Colt Thompson Submachine Gun Serial Numbers & Histories' was published? Thanks Richard

Me too!

Tracie, Excellent video of your unique display of the Model of 1919's, prototype magazines and drums, which I missed somehow, just stumbled upon it today. Thank you for keeping the Thompson history alive and I have the same style of 5.11 cargo pants..🤫

Slightly off topic, but I thought worth posting. Thanks to Roland the Thompsongunner, for sending me the pictures below, of his British Made 5 cell pouch. I'm not sure on the manufacturer, I think only part of the manufacturers code was stamped onto the pouch. It is something to look into. And to get back onto topic, Roland the Thompsongunner also sent me photos of his 'BRITISH MADE', US marked H.H.C. & Co.Ltd. 30 rnd Magazine case.

I would appreciate that, thanks, I'll PM my email address 👍

Love to see the 5 cell pouch. I've been looking on line to try and find K Ltd. No joy, but may be Canadian, Australian or even South African. Lots of details of manufacturers of WW2 Webbing equipment may be lost.

I've had similar issues posting in the past. Are the manufacturers the same as the three shown above?

If you get a chance, could you check the manufacturers markings on your 'British Made' cases, I am curious if any other British companies were contracted to manufacture these cases?

Earlier this month, I came across a drum pouch on eBay.com, advertised by seller in PA USA as: “Vintage Thompson SMG Drum Pouch with Shoulder Strap. Has Lift-The-Dot brass fastener and Naval stamp on flap. Not sure country of origin. Condition is excellent”. I was curious about the insignia on this pouch, so did something rare for me to do, and used new technology. To identify the pouch from the insignia on flap, I entered a photo of the insignia into an AI site, which informed me: "The insignia appears to be the Royal Thai Navy emblem, embroidered in a subdued grey/olive colour. Its main elements are: The Thai royal crown at the top A naval anchor in the centre Decorative Thai-style scrollwork A curved banner below, probably carrying the Thai Navy’s motto or name, though the low-resolution image makes it unreadable It is likely from a Royal Thai Navy field or equipment bag, rather than a rank badge. The design is consistent with the official Royal Thai Navy seal, which is used on Navy equipment and institutional materials. However, it does not appear to be the modern Royal Thai Navy emblem in its full, highly detailed form. It may be an older or simplified version, possibly associated with the Royal Thai Marine Corps, a naval support organization, or a postwar surplus item. The photograph alone cannot establish the exact date or unit.” Hence, I did a search on MGB and found this old topic, and brought it back to the top, to enter my latest addition to my drum pouch collection. I also did a search of Royal Thai Marine Corps, which informed me that: "The Royal Thai Marine Corps or RTMC are the marines of the Royal Thai Navy (RTN). The Royal Thai Marine Corps was founded in 1932, when the first battalion was formed with the assistance of the United States Marine Corps (USMC). It was expanded to a regiment in 1940 and was in action against communist guerrillas throughout the 1950s and 1960s. During the 1960s the USMC assisted in its expansion into a brigade. " I note from the posts above there is still a question, due to this pouch being slightly larger than a regular US marked L Drum pouch, if it was designed for an L Drum. One thing for sure, it is too small for a C drum, I tried to put one of my C drums into it, and it does not fit.

Thanks, I guessed they would, but nice to have confirmation.

Bringing back an old topic back, as I found a photo, that I had not seen before. It shows a member of the French Resistance, that appears to be armed with a Model of 1921, (or a 1928A), during the liberation of Lyon in the September 1944, with German POWs.

Over the years, I've tried hard to not go down the rabbit hole of collecting Thompson pouches. For display purposes, I've dipped my toes in the water a few times, purchasing an example of each type of pouch. These included a French version of the 30 rnd magazine case, made for the use of French troops in Indochina. Then last month, thanks to a number of drum pouches offered on the forum, I've found my addiction expand into a new area of Thompson collecting. I'm taking an interest in the 30 round magazine cases, and last month I purchased two Boyt manufactured magazine cases. Both dated 1942, but with different styles of manufacturers name and date markings. From a bit of research, I read that the Boyt Harness Company, Des Moines, produced cases in different dimensions and two methods of lid construction, with two types of reinforcement for the 'Lift-the-Dot' fastener. By chance, the two different Boyt magazine cases I bought had examples of each reinforcement. I've now gone to my preferred research book for WW2 Thompson accessories, 'American Thunder 3', (AT3), to confirm the manufacturers of the 30 rnd magazine cases.... and there is quite an extensive list. Pictured in AT3 is also an example of an US marked 30 round mag case, which was "manufactured under Reverse Lend- Lease Act", which has the inside of the flap stamped 'British Made'. This reminded me of the 'mystery' L drum pouch marked 'British Made' in my collection, which is dated 1944, despite research indicating that the British and commonwealth forces had officially discontinued using the L drum magazines in 1941/42. So back to more research, which led me to some interesting information. Prior to the Normandy landings and the beginning of the operations in the Europe Theatre, the US Army had been based in Britain for three years and had turned the territory into a true advanced base. This in turn created issues meeting the needs of their field gear equipment requirements, hence the US Army faced logistics issues shipping from the USA, partly due to the blockade/ shipping restrictions created by German U-Boats. Therefore, to meet their requirements, contracts were made with local British companies. This production of US material under British contract were all marked 'British Made', with the respective companies initials stamped on the field gear. The US marked 'British Made' equipment has some peculiarities distinguishing it from the traditional Made in USA equipment. The webbing material is usually thicker and obviously, this equipment is marked, 'British Made' confirming its manufacture in Britain, examples of different kinds of pouches produced in Britain can be found dated 1942, 1943, 1944 and occasionally 1945. So the mystery of the 'British Made' L Drum pouch is resolved.... Online, I found a few M1 and M1911 pouches and a US Officers map case, all marked 'British Made', as well as 30 round Magazine cases. This research also produced a number of examples of magazine bags produced in Britain by different manufacturers. As you can see, the 'British Made' US Marked bags are usually marked with a Broad Arrow stamped and the interiors have dividing slots for the 30 round magazines. Does anyone have any 'British Made' 30 rnd Magazine Cases in their collection? I am curious if these cases are still designed for 6 magazines, despite the dividing slots? In my collection I have some Pattern 37 style pouches, with dividing slots that are designed for 3 x 30 rnd magazines, which were produced for a Portuguese contract I was informed. I am presuming the 'British Made' US marked Magazine cases would have been made to US specs, i.e. for 6 x 30 rnd magazines, hence my question above.

Markings inside drum pouch flap.