Pair of gas rattles : British Army

Pair of First World War British made gas rattles. Both have the plywood tongue broken off.

During the First World War poisonous gases such as chlorine and mustard gas were released silently from cylinders, or quietly discharged from exploding gas artillery shells. The loud and distinctively sharp clacking noise made by gas rattles stood out amongst the other sounds heard in the trenches and nearby soldiers would rush to put on their protective gas equipment, such as respirators and hoods.

After the First World War tens of thousands of these rattles entered the civilian market with many of them being associated with English football (soccer) matches until the 1970's. Similar rattles to this were also used in Australia during the Second World War by civil defence organisations in the event of the use of gas by the Imperial Japanese on the civilian population.

This example is from the First World War and was made in Holborn, in central London by the A.W.Gamages department store. This company began trading in 1878 and it quickly became established as a London institution for an immensely diverse and very competitively priced goods. The store finally closed in 1972, one unusual aspect of the store was its location away from the established and popular main Oxford Street shopping precinct.

• Gas rattle : British Army
• Gas rattle : British Army