I have had this since i was a child,it must have been between 1970-1972 that my mother gave it to me.
The story maybe a bit blurred with time and my bad memory.
It was given too her by a friend of the family in Moenchengladbach where we lived.
He was on U boats,the casualty rate was the highest in WW2 at 70%
My Grandfather was Royal Navy in WW2 on North Atlantic and Mediterranean convoys,I cant remember if he met him,clearly it could have been awkward.
He told me in later years he had forgiven the Germans but not the French,this was because of an incident where they sunk their ships so we couldn't use them and maybe also because of the Vichy.
My father worked at the White House in Rheindahlen,he was RAF and had a very high security clearance as he was telecommunications/codes,hence why we where their.
When we lived in Yorkshire we took knives to school for outdoor pursuits after school,this was the only one I had and carried this,I didn't have a pouch so in the pocket it went.
No fight would have been anything other than with fists and so teachers never confiscated them.
They never stopped us sledging down hill using old fertiliser bags into the barb wire fence at the bottom of the school field either etc.etc.
As you can see its quite large,nowadays in England I cant imagine what would happen if you took it anywhere as an adult let alone as a child.
I don't know if he used this on the U boats or bought it afterwards,I have no way of dating it.
I chipped the blade edge as a kid,I seem to remember hitting a nail.
Today I cave it a clean and oil,I have tried to oil the wooden handle but the original covering on the wood is so good it wont seep through.
The brass thumb lock release is a great design,you can put your thumb on it as designed or go over it to the top of the blade.
Though large it isn't heavy,it feels strong and robust,clearly its designed as a work tool with nothing fancy.
But like the GEC 71 it has its charm from its simplicity of design and purpose.
