Follow up to the inquiry about a cannon model

[Forward Observer]

Just before I went out of town for the week, I started a rather long post originally trying to get information on a scale model
British 6 pder I picked up on Ebay.   

The thread if you missed it.
http://www.gboreloaded.com/forums/index.php/topic,180234.0.html

Both Dan310624 and BoomJ responded with pictures they had saved, which gave me the next step in researching the origins of the model.
One of the documents was authenticated by a BP Hughes with the address "Headquarters, Royal Artillery, Woolwich,  London.

Woolwich is a suburb in the southeast of London and at one time it was the location of the Royal armouries, which supplied
and manufactured most munitions.   The production facilities are no longer there, but it is still the site of the Royal Artillery
museum.

I sent an Email to their contact link with a picture of the model and pictures of two of the documents that BoomJ provided.


One of the librarians was kind enough to reply with the following:

Ref. Aug.287
28th August 2009
Dear Mr White

Thank you for your recent communication.

I’m afraid we do not hold any paperwork relating to the production of these models, but I can provide some background for you.

The signature on the certificate is BP Hughes, or more precisely Major General Basil Perronet Hughes CB CBE. In 1971 he was the President of the Royal Artillery Historical Society, Comptroller of the Royal Artillery, and a Member of the Board of Management of the Royal Artillery Institution (RAI).

He was one of the regiments’ most prolific historians having just published his key note text: Hughes, Maj.-Gen. B. P., British Smooth-Bore Artillery. The Muzzle Loading Artillery of the 18th & 19th Centuries (London: Arms and Armour Press, 1969) [ISBN 85368 023 X] and 1970 was the 150th Anniversary of the Museum of Artillery, the Rotunda, whose collection was owned by the RAI.

He had “fingers in many pies” and was considered the artillery authority in the UK I think the production of your model was more an arrangement between him and the maker than between the maker and regiment.

I think this is borne out by the wording of the certificate: Headquarters Royal Artillery? Our full title is the Royal Regiment of Artillery, and it should have been HQ DRA, RA Barracks, Woolwich not Headquarters - Royal Artillery.

BP lent his name to many things.

Hope this all helps.

Yours sincerely
Paul Evans
Librarian[/i]

While the information is useful, it also is sort of a dead end.   It appears that being a noted authority on artillery at the time (circa 1970), the late General Hughes (1903 to 1989) lent his name to the certification of the models, but this evidently had no connection to the museum or the Royal Artillery as a military organization.

Still, I have more information than I started with and who knows what I may turn up  it I keep at it.

Thanks, again for the help.

Cheers

P.S.

I still have some more pictures of cannons and cannon models to post as soon as I can figure out which disks they are on and get a bit more organized.

[RocklockI]

i'd guess its a keeper .

is it shootable ? it is one sweet cannon .

wanna sell it ?

[Forward Observer]

i'd guess its a keeper .

is it shootable ? it is one sweet cannon .

wanna sell it ?

Well, according to the barrel proof authentications, it is shootable, but being such a small caliber (.308) it wouldn't provide much of a report---and besides, being such an exquisite museum quality model, I just don't want to jeopordize it by firing it.     

---and no, I don't plan on selling it, but thanks for asking.


Cheers

[dan610324]

MAYBE THAT AINT THE END OF THE ROAD, try to contact the Rotunda museum for further information
hopefully they have some senior staff member in their sixties who worked there 1970 and still work there.
its not impossible, I would try if I was you
have the person that you contact at the rotunda museum to ask around among the staff if there is anyone who can provide any further information.
some very interesting things to know would of course be who made the barrel and who made the carriage,
its probably not the same company or person as it is two so very different kind of work.
another very interesting thing to know would of course be the price 1970 and how limited was the production, was they all produced at one time or did they do just a few per year during a longer time period.
as it aint more then 39 years ago there must be more info to get from someone still working,
if they cant help you with the ansvers to all the questions they probably at least can help you with some new ideas of where you should ask your questions.

the rotunda seem to be the place to start asking your questions, next place to try would be the royal artillery historical society, and of course also the royal artillery institution.

just try them all, you will probably get a small piece of information at all places.
if you can find more then one email address to each place so send the same letter to them all, because at most institutions the left hand dont know what the right hand does .
the more you can spread your questions the larger posibility to get ansvers to all your questions.

[carronader]

 and keep a tight grip on your wallet........seems there's a price on our National Heritage........despicable ......a lot of stuff they hold was donated / left to the nation............grrrrrrrrrr.........better stop now......you maybe lucky in your search ( I hope you noticed the book being quoted in your answer ) they probably get a percent on sales  grrrrrrrr.        U.K.co.ltd.   Maritime is the worst.

[Forward Observer]

Although I did not go in to great detail about it, I had already done quite a bit of additional digging on-line in relationship to the various Royal Artillery organizations in the UK.

The Royal Artillery Historical Society is a private membership organization limited to only members having served in the Royal Artillery.  All public inquiries are directed right back to the Royal Artillery museum in Woolwich.   The Royal Artillery Institute is also part of the Museum library.   The Royal  Artillery HQ is no longer in Woolwich--having moved lock, stock, and barrel to Larkhill, near Salisbury, Wiltshire in 2007

The "rotunda" simply refers to one of the display buildings at the Artillery museum designed by a John Nash (1752 to 1835).

Actually, when I made my one inquiry to the museum, there was a warning in the contact info that if my request required research time there could be a charge starting at a minimum of 15 pounds.   Luckily, the information that the librarian sent was free, but I didn't want to press my luck by a second inquiry to the same link.    The book he mentioned is long out of print and available copies were running well above $100US via various vintage book sellers.

I haven't quite given up yet, but my options have gotten narrower.


Cheers