UNIQUE & MEGA RARE ORIGINAL WW2 VINTAGE BRITISH ARMY BROWN CANVAS KIT BAG

SUPERB ORIGINAL MARKINGS TO MAJOR R.W.R. OLIVER - ROYAL TANK REGIMENT

COMMANDER OF WAR CORRESPONDENTS AT THE BATTLE OF ARNHEM - AWARDED US SILVER STAR FOR GALLANTRY

100% GENIUNE AND ORIGINAL - also marked A.D.L.S

For sale here is a rather important and unique WW2 British Army issue economy pattern kit bag, this came to me in a job lot of vintage surplus kit some time ago via a rag merchant who had been in the trade since the 1960's and was closing down, it has sat around for a while and before listing it here for the going rate for a bog standard kit bag of its type and age, like I always do with Wartime kit, I decided to run a few searches on the the three names on the bag and now here we are with what turns out to be a very special kit bag with a bona fide British Airborne Battle Of Arnhem connection!

There are three names on the bag, two are on one side "L. Meering" and the other "Alan Tucker", I got nowhere with these but the surname Meering is not particular common so someone may be able to find out something on that, HOWEVER the name on the other side is pretty much unique and has the bonus of a rank and regiment, namely "Major R.W.R. Oliver, Royal Tank Regiment" and this search, via the London Gazette and then various forums and websites came up with the goods. Major Royston William Raymond Oliver of the Royal Tank Regiment had a most spectacular war which included being the Public Relations Officer (PRO) in command of war correspondents at the Battle Of Arnhem! Major Oliver's role at Arnhem is well documented and he was even awarded the US Silver Star for gallantry during the battle! As you can imagine I was both overjoyed and blown away by this!

The bag is also marked with a red band and A.D.L.S (It has been painted over in black), I think this relates to the Air Despatch Letter Service which was established in April 1944 and then the unit disbanded in March 1945, so if the abbreviation is correct this puts the bag firmly in the WW2 period which is handy because I have no idea how long Major Oliver served in the Army for after the cessation of hostilities and because the bag has no discernable ink stamps inside (On these economy type kit bags this is quite common to find, at best I have found the odd broad arrow or WD, sometimes with a date or maker mark but this one is devoid on anything).

The bag measures approximately 32"/81.5cm in length, base diameter is 10.5"/36.5cm, laid flat the neck of the bag measures 17"/43cm.

This bag is 100% ORIGINAL, because of where it came from I have absolutely NO doubts about it's authenticity at all, everything about it is right and as anyone who buys from me knows I am not in the business of selling fantasy fake items and conning people out of their hard earned money and never ever have been nor will be! I am however someone who spends far too much time researching the most seemingly mundane pieces of surplus kit and militaria and who cannot write a succinct item description even if his life depended on it. Of course there is no way of knowing at what point in Major Oliver's wartime career this kit bag of his saw use, you simply cannot ever say if it ever went anywhere near Arnhem, however it certainly belonged to him at one point during the war and the man was a documented and honored hero who played an important role at one of the wars most famous battles.

CONDITION: The bag is in remarkably good condition, all eyelets are present as is the original thin rope at the neck, the stitching on the flap has come away at one end but I am being fussy here. This is still in great shape and photos show the ACTUAL bag you will receive.

Selling with NO RESERVE, there is NO buy-it-now and I will not consider offers, this will simply sell to the highest bidder as always. I am really really pleased I am still sad enough to look up names on all the WW2 pieces I find because otherwise this would have ended up on a buy-it-now for pennies with the suggestion in the listing that the bag would be "ideal for repurposing into a tote bag/holdall", instead I know whatever it makes at the end of the auction it will go to a good new home where its history will be appreciated and never lost, HAPPY BIDDING!