Help to identify - GWR Swindon Iron Cast Plate

[Jaykee94]

Hello,

It is my first post here and I need your help in identifying our latest metal detecting find.

It's a small iron cast plate with G.W.R. Swindon on it. I have attached front and back pictures.

We found this on a small field in Burnham near Slough, Berkshire.

Any information is much appreciated. I am interested in the history of this item and maybe some insight as to how it ended up so far away from Swindon or any rail network for that matter.

 

[eastwestdivide]

What size is it?

 

[Jaykee94]

What size is it?

Hi,

Here it is in comparison to a standard 2 pound coin.

 

[edwin_m]

Cast iron would undergo brittle fracture instead of deforming like that, so I suggest it's actually made of something else. Is it magnetic?

Far from being an expert here but did the GWR issue "coinage" to workers for use in the company shop?

 

[Jaykee94]

Cast iron would undergo brittle fracture instead of deforming like that, so I suggest it's actually made of something else. Is it magnetic?

Far from being an expert here but did the GWR issue "coinage" to workers for use in the company shop?

Hello,

It is not magnetic.

It is very thin and light, weighing only 5 grams.

I tried searching for any sort of coinage or tokens being issued to their staff but could not find anything.

 

[FGW_DID]

If you don't get any joy here, your best bet would probably be to contact either STEAM - the GWR museum at Swindon or maybe the Great Western Society at the Didcot Railway Centre.

 

[DelW]

Might it be something like a cap badge, or a uniform badge, identifying an employee's staff number and working location? If so it's not obvious how it would have been attached, but possibly whatever the attachment was has rotted away over the years.

 

[Czesziafan]

Its definitely not a pay check or badge. Given its size and light weight I suspect that its most likely an identification plate from a handlamp.

The reference to Swindon would be where the lamp would be need to be sent for any repairs but the find location suggests it was probably used at Burnham or Taplow.