Material: Nickel silver
Length: 170mm
Width: 22mm (across tines)
Description: This historic four-tine dinner fork is an authentic piece of military mess silverware manufactured by the famous British cutlery house James Dixon & Sons. Stamped deeply along the lower stem is a number reading "2441279" above a small decorative accent line. This utilitarian stamping allowed military units or garrison kitchens to inventory, track, and secure communal dining property across active duty deployments.
Reverse: This historic reverse view confirms the authentic manufacturing and military acceptance stamps on the James Dixon & Sons camp mess fork. Reading left to right, the handle stem features a distinct cartouche enclosing the "DIXON" name, followed by the company's iconic trumpet-on-a-banner logo. Directly adjacent to the maker mark is a deeply struck British military Broad Arrow (Pheon) property mark, explicitly certifying that the utensil was accepted into service by the War Department. The stamping sequence concludes with a crisp, stamped calendar year 1942, dating this specific piece of field cutlery precisely to the height of the Second World War.
Notes:
This fork formed part of a British soldier’s personal mess kit during the Second World War. Such utensils were issued for use in field kitchens, barracks, and mobile operations where soldiers ate from their standard mess tins. The Sheffield firm James Dixon & Sons was one of the major contractors producing cutlery and tableware for British military supply during the war. Their products were widely issued across the armed forces. The broad arrow mark indicates British government property and is commonly found on military equipment ranging from weapons and uniforms to field utensils. The stamped number 2441279 likely represents the service number of the soldier to whom the fork was issued, a practice sometimes used to discourage loss or mixing of kit in communal dining areas. Items such as these provide a tangible link to the everyday life of soldiers serving during the war, illustrating the practical equipment that accompanied them in camp and on campaign.