Ice Cold in Alex

Absolutely! I think the paint luminous stuff was banned in the seventies for health reasons.

The paint was great for marking stuff. Light switches were a prime target (but the best of ideas are not always loved by the man of three stripes!)

All change nowadays, safer but not necessarily better.

Kind regards, always,

Jim.

 

There was an interwar scandal over watch dial painters succumbing to cancers. They were using radium paint and used to lick points onto their brushes.

 

My left leg in profile now bears a passing resemblance to a motorway map of Italy (in relief!)

Even in Ron Hill trackie bottoms they are not a pleasant sight.

Kind regards, always,

Jim.

 

Not Carlsberg I'm afraid but a Pilsner from Cairo for the NAAFI - this particular one was downed in November 1941 by a RAMC lad who was captured at Tobruk but later repatriated

 

Not Tosh but a fact that such beverages were sourced from a reliable source by the military authorities.Precautions were necessary to protect the health of combatants and prevent a reduction in military capability.

No different to an FFI and the reason to maintain health standards.

I suppose now you are going to testify from personal experience that on your travels,you have sampled the water from the Sweet Water Canal.

 

Broadmoor Siren

I heard these every morning growing up. A couple of times a loony escaped from Broadmoor, and kids were sent home in groups or waited to be picked up after school. I was walking home on one of these times with 2 other boys, when we saw a lady walking towards us. One of my mates said " Look! The nutter's put on big tits and is pretending to be a woman!" I said " that's my mum!"

 

And that is a beer from the Egyptian company I mentioned

 

The c

The concern was less with the luminous bits showing up at night than the watch glass glinting in the sun in the day.You'll note that only the hands are painted on the watch in the photo and these would not show up at any great distance, however bright sunlight reflecting off a watch glass can cause a flash that can be spotted from a long way away.

It should also be noted that, apart from the more expensive ones, wrist watches of the time were neither water resistant or shockproof and needed protecting from the rough conditions that soldiers might encounter

 

Yes.......you must also read my post # 45 which is relevant.The source was the NAFFI whose supplier would have been an authorised source for their supply chain and above all,sanctioned by the military authorities.