Jan C. Still Lugerforums banner

Colt 1911 with interesting holster

3K views 12 replies 11 participants last post by  mike radford 
#1 ·
Still bored and tired of being locked up at home, but looking on the bright side, this time has allowed me to get caught up on some picture taking and posting which I have always put off. So today I have an interesting Colt 1911 and wanted to throw it out for comments/thoughts. First the back story - this came out of New Hampshire and the seller had no history on it whatsoever. I bought the rig for the pistol itself as the holster has seen it's better days. When I got it, I found a name written on the inside of the flap (no mention of this name was made before hand). It is tough to figure out exactly other than this person was a Lieutenant in the Army, but after doing internet searches of possible names, I got a 'hit' with H.E. Tingley. Upon further research, it turns out that there was an H.E. (Harold Elliott) Tingley who was from Cambridge, Mass (graduated Harvard Dental School). He was commissioned as a Lieutenant in Sept of 1917 and served in France during the war and later in Germany as part of the occupation forces as a dentist. He later worked at Harvard in the capacity of Dentist (Harvard Dental School).

To me, it is a high probability that this is his gun. Here are the facts:
1. Gun came from New England, which corresponds to where he came from and lived after the war.
2. The gun was made in 1917, which corresponds to when he entered the service, was commissioned and went overseas.
3. It displays wear, but nothing that would correspond to the rigors of having been carried in combat. (i.e., it was likely carried by a rear echelon officer such as a dentist rather than an infantryman)
4. The initials "H.E." are prominently penned in, so at least the first/middle initials match.
5. The solider was a Lieutenant in the US Army - the same as Tingley


Holster is a bit rough, but it is what it is. Came with kind of a cool inner liner made from what appears to be a Kersey lining or blanket material.

Anyway, it is a bit of supposition on my part, but I think I have compiled a reasonable case to call this pistol as having been carried by H.E. Tingley. I would love to get others' thoughts and opinions. Thanks in advance.
 

Attachments

See less See more
18
#2 ·
The only letter that is tough to make out in the holster is that which I believe is "g" in the last name. Pictures are hard to catch the lettering - easier to see in person, but I think you can make out what I am seeing - "Lieut H. E. Tingley USA". I tried several other letter combinations for the last name and never could come up with a match during my searches/research - finding somebody who was an Army officer and from New England with any name similar to this.

Also, some supporting docs I found. It is interesting that the vet is listed in the docs in the same manner as the holster, with the first two initials - H. E. Tingley
 

Attachments

#5 ·
Besides the pistol's great condition I think you have a match concerning the former's owner ID.
Your rational is pretty consistent. That's what I like most in your topics: you dont push hard but present a consistent research instead.
Douglas
 
#8 ·
Congratulations, both on your acquisition of a superb M1911 WW-I era pistol, but also your research into it's owner.

Here's more to help fill in the history. The "USS Leviathan" was a rather interesting ocean liner. It was a German HAPAG Line ship called the "Vaterland" or "Fatherland".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Leviathan

The ship was in New York City at the outbreak of WW-I and seized by the US Government. When Lt. Tingley rode it to Europe it had been taken by the US Navy. Later it was part of the commercial fleet of the United States Lines.

Like many ships during the war, it got the "Dazzle" camouflage treatment:



https://www.cheneymuseum.org/the-uss-leviathan/
 
#10 ·
Thanks to all for your comments and input! As always, I like to document the vet's history in regards to his service. I found this one a bit fascinating as I had never really paid any attention to the medical service during WWI. During my limited research conducted to do the write-up, I was amazed at how woefully unprepared the US was when it entered the war. Seems like government is always behind the power curve (take the current health situation we are facing) and how private citizens have to step up to the plate. Thank God for folks like Lt. Tingley.

I added the pages of the passenger manifests showing Tingley (PFC on the outbound and 1st Lt on the homewardbound) journeys. He sailed on the SS Leviathan to France and on the SS Maui homeward. Here is a link to info on the Maui https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Maui_(1916)

As a side bar, if you have the chance, you should read Gen. Pershing's book, "My Experiences in the World War". Reading it, I was amazed at how much effort the US had to spend just getting set up and prepared for the war. The earliest troops were the support troops - those who were going to set up the docks, facilities and transport just to get the combat troops (who weren't even really trained nor prepared in any case) to where they needed to be. Only due to the springtime German offensive and the dire need for combat troops was the limited shipping capacity switched towards getting combat troops to Europe and the front. In turn, it meant that the medical service fell behind and wasn't fully set up and ready once we did get involved in the fighting.
 

Attachments

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top