The dinner gong propeller with engine parts was made by my grandfather from a Darracq World War 1 de Havilland bi plane of which he was the fighter pilot.
He was born in the late 1880's, became an engineer and invented the Peco two stroke engine. He manufactured the first hydraulics for J.C.B.in Birmingham. His propeller dinner gong was a humorous momento of his contribution towards Britain's WW1 effort and his cultural inventiveness. As children we were allowed to sound the gong to announce Sunday lunch. It was something we were very proud of because it was so unusual and made a satisfyingly loud noise.
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