This is Granddads officer trunk from 1918; it was sent back to Grandma when her husband left her, my 3 year old father and his brother for ever, May 1st,1918 on the battlefield between Merville and Bois de Nieppe.
The trunk is locked and who knows what's inside?

Go on, then, Egbert. I'm curious.

Gwyn

Please open it before Sunday, I have to go back to sea for a month.

Roger.

Well!
Are you going to open it? Or do We pick the lock!
gordon

I'll play! Tins of food, extra socks, and sheet music. Mundane to the ridiculous.

How did anyone resist unlocking it until now?

According to your avitar the trunk belonged to a grand-dad of the German persuasion. Had it been the second world war I am guessing that it will be full of earth from Poland where he was helping to shift the country back to the homeland bit by bit. However being the first world war I think that it will be empty. His kit would have been divvied out to his surviving mates and it was just the box that was shipped home as no-one wanted it.

Secret papers never been seen before. A map of the UK with all the pubs shown in red!

Come on you have to open it now, we're dying to see whats inside.

Mandy

No, take the money!!


(Egbert - a long time ago there was a TV game show called 'Open the Box' in which successful competitors culd choose between a cash prize or the unknown contents of a box. The audience encouraged the contestants with shouts of "open the box" and "take the money")

"Take Your Pick".............Open the box was an option,they say your memory starts to go when you pass 50,{From one who knows!}

Your Quiz & Inqusitor tonight is Mr Michael Miles...........Werent Sunday evenings gentle way back then!


It'll be full of Reichsmarks,pre Inflation............Loaf of bread anyone?

Harry and Kate remember "Take Your Pick" with Michael Miles on the telly. This old geezer remembers it on the wireless (radio for younger pals).

Radio Luxembourg, 208 metres medium wave, only receivable in reasonable fidelity after dark (now why was that, wireless techies?), so daytime Radio Lux broadcasts were all en francais. I digress.

The thing I recall was the "generosity" of the money offered for the key. "I'll give you 5 bob"... "No, I'll open the box"..."7/6 then"..."No, I'll open the box"..."10 bob?" etc.

THey brought it back, briefly, a few years ago IIRC.

As for what's in Egbert's grandad's trunk - his (German) field-marshal's baton, the manuscript of THE (unpublished) novel of the Great War (it would have pushed even Mr Blackadder's opus into the shade) - and the items suggested by busybee.

Jim

Thanx a lot for youe encouragements
Before I can open the box, I need to find the key! Last week I restored this old lock and freed it from 87 years of rust; wow I found the key -so we might do the job; maybe piece by piece, day by day?

Oooh Egbert, you are a tease !

It's a beautifully unusual key! Think of your grandad handling it, inserting it into the padlock, carefully lifting the lid and........

Gwyn

Egbert has been reading Des's blog, and taken some lessons in how to draw out the suspense.
Cheers
Kim

If we were any nearer to him we could go 'over there' and kidnap his wife til he opened the box!

Mandy

Ps Ok so he wouldn't do it and we would be laft with the misses I know but it sounded good to start with!

Cheers
Kim

I wish he would hurry up, I've only joined so I can find out what's in it.

Welcome to the forum, Songbird.
Cheers
Kim

mandy if you kidnap my missus i will run down there and get the box for you and you can keep her as long as you want OHHH what bliss that would be,maybe the dog would come back home,bernard

You could borrow my Wife for a couple of months, but she only does cleaning and cooking now, and its the cooking thats the problem, its too good, if she's away me and the dogs might lose some weight. Just about to tackle a couple of bowls of London particular(soup) followed by steamed treacle pudding. oh dear! I can feel the calories already.
And Egbert, for goodness sake dont keep us in suspense, I dont care if your G-Dad was in the Irish Salvation Army

Len

I know its been eighty years;since the contents last saw light of day,but could I offer a couple of suggestions ...........................

Patience,patience........

Do be a good chap and open the box-carefully, of course!

The suspense is killing me!

How about just using a small piece of C4?

Steve

OPEN THE BOX!!

I don't want the money!!

Dave

Has Egbert gone to sleep?

Guys , be patient its becoming a long lasting and hopefully interesting thread back into time; piece by piece
we have a time difference of 7 hrs and I am at work right now -no access to the trunk; the messenger dog is guarding vigorously= he only accepts me examining the trunk when distracted by his daily food ration which comes tonight;

Dear Roger

It is your memory that is fading now! Sunday nights were from the London Palladium, with Norman 'Roses Grow on You' whatsisname and the Tiller Girls. Friday nights were indeed 'Take Your Pick', of that I am sure, because on 22 November 1963 it coincided with Kennedy's assasination. I remember sitting by the fire hearing the news.

Yes evenings by the TV were gentle, thought I, in my cradle.

Regarding the trunk, I think Egbert will find a spare key, a set of paid gas bills and a tennis racket.

Egbert,
Are you not feeling well? you don't sound to good to me. I think you should go home and rest! What do the rest of you think? He is looking rather peeky don't you think?

Mandy

But Egbert, you showed us the key and lock OFF the box in Post 11. Phil B

It would have to contain a copy of this book wouldn't it?

Touche' I put me hands up! My memory well & truly "Shot"

Ole' Swingin' ~ Dodgy Norman Vaughan
& Dickie Henderson as "Guest Star" every other week.{When they couldn't get that manic French Bloke with his tangled Jacket & Bowler Hat~That's Entertainment}...LWTV has a lot to answer for

Egbert
You could make this the longest running thread on the forum if you don't open it soon.
Glyn

egbert,
This is becoming The Longest Day

Sorry egbert,

Don't open it. It might be the Holy Grail!

Mmmmh... I'll bet something that spiderwebs and dust can be found in there.

Gloria

Could be Hitlers "Pre-war Diaries"

Les.

Watch out egbert,
If he is a taxman I bet there will be hell to pay on opening the box.

thanx , this will become a hitchcock thread - it is 14:00 hrs and i am still at work; and I promise you -it will turn from fun into sober awaken to the reality of war

egbert,
I have little doubt that if it is what I think it is, it will be indeed be sobering.
Ken

Your Grandad know anyone called Pandora??

Aye
Malcolm

Maybe it's a prophecy.

Egbert's dog will be so hungry he will dash forward (it's a daschund) and eat the contents of the box before Egbert has had a proper chance to examine the contents, thus rendering the contents unreadable,...
except for the words,... 'prophecy, and dog'.

Julia

P.S. We're getting bored Egbert.

Sorry pals for the delay: I just came back from work and wanted to approach the trunk. But i am not weary of life - the messenger dog drove me crazy; not even the mentioning of Gwyn's cat distracted him - boy he protects it! I don't want to tease you nor do I want to take your precious time -but you don't want to be in harms way -a Brit origin Airedale in German service is dangerous stuff; I think i can manage at feeding time later today

It's open and here is the first artifact: a pair of binoculars; hope this government issued equipment was only "borrowed"

len,i have the opposite problem,my wifes cooking is terrible,our dustbins got ulcers cos of it,bernard

Oh, Bernard.
Cheers
Kim

Hello,

You may be sure that the binoculars are not borrowed, they are German.

Regards,

Cnock

Sorry,

Just realized it was a German trunk.

Cnock

Looks like the dog got in before you and chewed them up!

Dammit Egbert, you're a tease!

You weren't a stripper in a past life were you?

Adrian

You must stop at all costs. The trunk almost certainly contains:

irrefutable evidence that Haig was a magnificent general, the best we have ever had,

irrefutable evidence that all the SAD men were totally guilty and worthless and deserved to die

irrefutable evidence that the 'Angel of Mons' and 'Russians with snow on their boots' did exist.

Don't do it, or you will make half our members happy at the expense of the other half.

signed. Grumpy, Captain, 4th Armoured Thunderboxes attd. Mobile Field Brothel.