WW1 Era Pipe With Army Unit Insignia

Welcome aboard! Pictures would be great. See the sticky at the top of the main page(link below) for a tutorial. I would love to see those pipes.
http://pipesmagazine.com/forums/topic/instructions-for-posting-pictures

Just copy the bottom image link from photobucket and paste it directly in your post. No need to hit the forum "

That is very cool. Even a hallmarked silver band. I am not sure what brand it is from the "EP" on the band but that is a nice treasure. I am sure someone here will know. That would be great if you could get a new stem made for it. I would love to see the others when you have time to post them.

My guess would be that the "YD" is an example of Trench Art and was probably added to the pipe by your great grandfather or one of his friends. War consists of a few hours of intense activity followed by days or weeks of sheer boredom. Soldiers fought the boredom by making items using materials at hand.

That Medico Dublin looks great! Ya gotta try some flakes in that one after ya get her cleaned up!

I agree, the insignia looks like a carving done after manufacture, likely by your great grandfather or

someone in his unit. This is quite a family heirloom. I don't know as I would modify it much. A

complete restoration might make a better smoking pipe of it, but might compromise some of its

historical significance. If I were you, I'd want to keep this treasure. However, if you ever find that

it might pass into unknowing hands, you might like to know (if you don't already) that there is an

excellent World War I museum in Kansas City that is professionally archiving items and documents

from World War I, and they may be able to provide information on your great grandfather's service,

dates, places, and maybe some details, at least about his unit's activities. I know this because my

wife's dad was a World War One veteran; he married late, and he and his wife had their only child

late after much disappointment. I won't give you the details of his service, but the museum was

forthcoming and helpful. Just Google: World War I Museum, Kansas City, and go from there.

The pipe should be preserved for your family, and if that is not possible, for history. It makes that

war real in the present day. (My wife's treasure was her dad's cook's uniform; no safety in that;

he was gassed and was treated for the effects his whole life and died rather young, in his mid 60's.

That insignia is of Yankee Delta. My cousin serves with them and a friend of mine has a father that serves with them. You should look into their history.

Welcome to the forums!

I bet the EP on the band means Electro Plated. The Hallmark looks phoney, and IAC hallmarks aren't a feature of American silver.
Alan

Someone with a lathe could easily make a plug from wood for that and you could get it drilled out for a Forever Stem and enjoy it.

EP = English Pride??

If it IS trench art, then it's probably coin silver(.900). Soldiers would hammer out a coin to flatten it and then cut/file it to shape.

welcome aboard