Summary

Australian Army 'Dismounted Service' pattern D-shaped steel mess tin, of a type issued to Australian infantry during World War I. The mess tin bears the inscriptions 'Simpson & Son Ltd 1916 Adelaide' and 'Brisbane Sheet Metal Works 1916'.

Australian soldiers carried considerable quantities of equipment and weaponry during World War I. When they were being readied to attack their personal and other non-vital items were left in stores further behind the line. Mess tins were part of a kit of eating utensils and were carried with individuals in the field (likely into the forward lines) for use as a container to hold and/or cook foods. This example of mess tin contains a hinged handle stored inside the lid so that the lid can be held over a fire to heat or fry food.

The mess tin was made by two different manufacturers. Simpson & Son had a long history as a prominent metals manufacturer in Adelaide. Alfred Simpson had arrived in South Australia with his family in 1849 and within five years had established himself as a tinsmith in Adelaide. His son, also Alfred, joined the business in 1864. By the 1880s the company was manufactuing munitions and mines, and by the time of Alfred senior's death in 1891, A. Simpson and Son had the largest metal manufacturing plant in Australia. Other sons subsequently joined the firm and in 1910 the business was incorporated. During World War I the company again manufactured munitions as well as ordnance.

Brisbane Sheet Metal Works is difficult to identify as a business in Brisbane during this period. Sheet metal works were carried out during war-time in Brisbane at locations including E. Sachs & Co. Ltd, Warren Street, Valley and Messrs. E. G. Eager and Son, Ltd, Newstead. The presence of a Brisbane Tinsmiths and Sheet Metal Workers' Board and a Sheet Metal Workers' Industrial Union hint at the size of the local sheet metal industry. Significantly, in an article about threats to gas and electricity supplies due to war-time restrictions in November 1916, the Brisbane Courier reported that 'one firm of sheet metal workers...had been making munitions for the past 18 months'. Unfortunately the firm is not named in the article, but the time frame indicates they had been making munitions since around June 1915.

Physical Description

A D-shaped metal mess tin with handles and lid. The tin is an unpainted grey-brown steel with some tarnishing and rust. The base has a solid wire handle which hooks through metal loops on the sides of the tin. The metal loops are riveted to the tin and engraved near the rivets on each side in the letter: 'N'. Two rectangular hinges are riveted to the top of the tin, to hold a strap (missing). Inside the lid of the mess tin is a hinged handle. The front of the tin and top of the lid are stamped with manufacturers' names.

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