British Pattern 1939 Entrenching Tool, Shovel Spade, 1940 John Perks with Broad Arrow, RP 32, Pat. 39 Canvas Carrier, Implement, Entrenching, 1939 Pattern, Dutch Reddingsploeg

Today we'll be taking a look at a very seldom seen, British spade, or entrenching tool, that dates to a very small window of time, to the very beginning of Britain's entry into WW2.

This spade, is officially known as the "Implement, Entrenching, 1939 Pattern".  This was the British issue spade at the very beginning of WW2.

Before we dive in too deep, I'd like to give a little bit of background history on the issue British entrenching tools in 1939.  In just a few words, the British had no entrenching tool.  That's right, you read that correctly, "No Shovel, No Spade, No Entrenching Tool"!

In 1923, the British made all entrenching tools obsolete, and there were no standard issue tools issued out to the soldiers serving the Crown.  No one knows for sure why they did away with entrenching tools, but it is a guess that they felt that trench warfare was a thing of the past, and shovels would not be needed.
In 1937, the British web gear was redesigned and the Pattern 1937 web gear came into general issue.  The only piece of web gear that was missing from this new '37 pat. gear, was a shovel carrier.  There was no entrenching tool, so no need for a carrier!
In 1939 Britain found themselves at war.  The British Expeditionary Forces were deployed to France, without an entrenching tool.  The War Ministry did some fast back peddling, and selected an "off the shelf" design to put into service as the new issue entrenching tool.  Their choice was the classic spade, or Linneman Tool variant.  
This new entrenching tool - spade was officially adopted at the end 1939, but was not issued until the beginning of 1940.  
These Pattern 1939 spades were found to be inadequate for digging in anything other than soft soil, and they were very unpopular with the troops.
In July of 1941, the Pattern 1939 spade was made obsolete and was pulled out of field service.  The spade was replaced with the Pattern 1937 "pick".

You can read about the Pattern 1937 Picks on my earlier blog pages here:

https://sharky-fourbees.blogspot.com/2019/09/british-entrenching-tool-ww2-implement.html

https://sharky-fourbees.blogspot.com/2019/09/british-entrenching-tool-ww2-implement_21.html

When these Pattern 1939 spades were pulled out of general service, they were relegated to training stores, and for use with Cadet Training Units.  In 1947, after the war, these spades were completely removed from all British service.

For a very good history of the Pattern 1939 spade, I would highly recommend that you jump over to You Tube and check out the video produced by Rifleman Moore: 
https://youtu.be/uDOelExIffQ

Another excellent source for information on these British spades and the earlier, and later entrenching tools, can be found over at Karkee Web :
http://www.karkeeweb.com/patterns/1937/1937_entrenching_tools_tools.html

Now let's take a look at the Pattern 1939 spade that I have.

This spade is the typical "flat spade" that was in use by nearly every army in Europe from the WW1 era, and into the beginning of WW2.

The spade is dated 1940, with the manufacturer's mark John Perks, as well as the British Broad Arrow acceptance stamp.  I believe that all of these Pattern 1939 spades that were issued out are dated 1940.

There is an additional stamped mark on the wood handle.  It reads RP 32.  

This is a post-war marking that was added by the Dutch.  After WW2, many of these shovels were sold to the Dutch for use in their Civil Defense and Rescue Forces.  The RP mark signifies "Reddingsploeg", or Rescue Service.  The 32 is found on all of the shovels in their service.  I believe that each type of tool was given a "Dutch Stock Number" when they were reissued.  Shovels are found with RP 32, flashlights RP 23, and Rescue Axes RP 4, etc.

The shovel blade has very distinctive "folded ears" as reenforcements on the shoulder.

The socket of the blade is formed with two pieces and reenforced with "wrap-around wings" from the main blade stamping.

Everything is heavily riveted to hold all the parts together.

The original canvas shovel covers are nearly impossible to find these days, and if you are lucky enough to find one, the prices are crazy high.  I managed to locate a very high quality, museum grade cover, so I picked it up to pair with my Pattern 1939 spade.

The cover needed a little "aging" and detailing, to give it that authentic look.  As I like to say, "The devil is in the details".  I did a bit of file work on the brass fittings, and gave them a good patina.  I also added a "MECO" makers stamp, a "1940" date, and a "British Broad Arrow" acceptance stamp to give this replica the look of an original. 

You can read more about the original covers over at Karkee Web:
http://www.karkeeweb.com/patterns/1937/1937_entrenching_tools_carriers.html

Keep your eyes open for these British spades.  They are often sold as "German", as most folks don't realize that they are British issued.  The broad arrow is always a dead giveaway! When it comes to the "flat spades", these are definitely some of the rarer ones.

Let's take a closer look at my example.