ID help from ordinance team please

[Rank81]

I found this item today and wondered if you knew what it was from.
The field has produced 15 No.36M Mills bases to date, all dated 1940 and this has similar markings, but is much smaller

I wonder if you could enlighten me.

Many thanks
Neil

[Alan Black]

A Mills grenade filler plug.

[Rank81]

That would match well. Thank you

[MilitaryMetalMagnut]

As said, Mills grenade filler screw. WDC - Wolverhampton Die-casting Co, one of the most prolific makers of British Mills grenade parts, and ‘Z’ is for ‘Zinc’.
You should also be finding lots of other bits of zinc pieces, which would be fragments of the internal tube for the firing mechanism and detonator.

Best regards,

Simon

[Rank81]

Cheers Simon,

It's your website page I believe I was using to ID the mills bases. They've all been 1940 but a wide variety of of makers and foundries etc.

I've been surprised by the lack of other bits of the mills. I can only say for sure I've had one definite bit of shrapnel but I may not have noticed others for what they are perhaps. This is first filler cap from the field. I assume was used for some sort of training, no bases near, anymore at least here in south Cumbria. Home guard? If they had live training, I assume they did. I'm surprised this field was used as the underground Thurlmere viaduct runs right through the middle and have found the mills bases at either side of the access hatches - unless of course it was protecting this infrastructure that the training was for .