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My grandfather, William Bartlett was a soldier in the Royal Artillery during WW2. On one occasion he was driver for a senior army officer in England when they came upon a crashed German fighter plane.

The two men got out of the car to have a look but were challenged by a sentry who was guarding the plane. Luckily, my Grandfather knew the sentry and had a chat with him regarding the fighter.

There was wreckage scattered around and a piece of perspex from the canopy took my Grandfather's fancy. He asked the sentry and the officer if it would be acceptable to take this small piece away as he had an idea of what he could make with it.

The result is my item. What my Grandfather did was to carve a heat-shaped broach that held photos of both him and his wife Ellen May Bartlett. I know that he had limited access to tools in the barracks and so fashioning the broach took much effort.

These people were both very much in love until they died and I like to think that even in such a wicked war, my Grandfather was able to convert a fragment of a weapon into a token of love for his wife.