Unique historical ashtray

[tankbuster183]

I'm new to posting and this seems like the proper forum. Thought you guys might like this; my grandfather passed a few months back at the young age of 95. I took his ashtray as tribute; he made it from a spare 105mm howitzer shell after getting back from Germany in 1945. It reminds me of all the chats we had over cigars/pipes about family, faith, war stories, and life in general. It also weighs about 5 lbs and is impossible to knock over!

 

[gtclark]

Very interesting - thanks for sharing! I've never seen anything like it, and it's certainly an heirloom.

 

[anglesey]

Hm, what a relic. That's a British shell. I used to drink in a pub where the bell for last orders was an old artillery shell from ypres the landlady's husband brought back. There's lots odd relics made of shells and such knocking round in shops round here, but its quite rare for someone to have brought them back these days.

 

[voorhees]

That is an awesome memento from your family history.

 

[plateauguy]

Great memories and ashtray! (You need a pipe cork in the center)

 

[pylorns]

Pretty bad-ass right there.

 

[fnord]

Tank:
Although very plain and unadorned this shell casing falls into the realm of "Trench art" and the collectability factor can ratchet up considerably.
To me, it's an oversized ash bin leftover from WWII. But, to others, it might be a work of art. It's certainly hard to tell.
On the other hand, it belonged to your grand dad. And you smoked with him over that ashtray. It would be priceless to me. I'd drop a cork knocker right in the middle of that sucker and continue to think of him every time I fired up a burner. (I've got my grandfather's favorite ashtray on my work desk and I think of him every day when I see it and his old Half & Half pipe tool.)
Fnord

 

[dottiewarden]

Nice keepsake!

 

[sfsteves]

+1 on adding a cork to the center ... I'd LOVE to have an ashtray like that one ...

 

[topd]

That's pretty cool! The M101 Howitzer was a real workhorse of a gun for infantry support during WWII, Korea and Vietnam. Many other countries used it also but it was American made. The 105mm round came in several different flavors - amatol high explosive, smoke, white phosphorus and mustard gas. It could fire a round about 12,325 yards or 7 miles away! The M-14 shell you have was a drill round, used for parades and ceremonies (made a big noise). I'd love to have a pair of them!

 

[ravkesef]

Keep the tradition going and pass it down to your grandchildren. What a marvelous keepsake.