I love doing the research :-)

So among other things I collect older military. It amazes me how much good stuff slips through the cracks because people didn't do the research on it. I just picked up this pair of binoculars. I wouldn't normally go after regular field gear. It's just not my thing, but I thought it was interesting that it mentions the unit as well as the owner's name: S G Alexander, 98th Can. Siege Battery. If you look that up you will be directed to the 2nd Canadian Garrison Battery which was the first Canadian garrison battery to arrive in France. As such it was attached to the British and named the 98th Canadian Siege Battery. It fired its first shots in July 1916...in the Battle of Verdun. Attached to the British 4th Army they then saw action for most of the Battle of the Somme. Before the Battle of the Somme was finished the 98th Canadian Siege Battery pulled out of the line and headed north to join the Canadian Corps Heavy Artillery and became the 2nd Canadian Garrison Battery again. They went on to see fighting at Vimy Ridge, Ypres, Cambrai, etc. The significance of the unit is great but what is crazy is that the binoculars were labelled by Lt. Alexander when he was in a unit that only existed while they were fighting in the Battle of Verdun and the Battle of the Somme. I also happen to really like that the binoculars are from Paris with British broad arrows and issued to a Canadian. Nice to see allied equipment shared around. Lt. Alexander survived the war and was a Lt. Colonel by 1919. I guess he had plenty of opportunity for promotion given everything he saw during the war.