Does anyone know what these are?

[Unitedite Returns]

Does anyone know what these are?

Both, surprisingly have a Sheffield association, whilst one of them has two Sheffield associations.

You may never have seen one of these, but I suspect that most of you would have seen that which they were used to make.

Incidentally, they are not milk-checks.

[John Russell]

Were they the interchangeable parts of moulds used in the glass blowing process when they made milk bottles for various companies? Specifically, was this the base mould?

[Unitedite Returns]

44 minutes ago, John Russell said:

Were they the interchangeable parts of moulds used in the glass blowing process when they made milk bottles for various companies? Specifically, was this the base mould?

A very good, intelligent and well thought out answer, but unfortunately incorrect.

And without putting you off, I would add a small cryptic clue, by saying that you are looking in the wrong direction entirely.

[Edmund]

for making Blue Peter Guide Dog tokens?

[John Russell]

Aha! Then it must be to emboss the caps?

[syrup]

Bottle Tops ??

[Voldy]

During the War years B & C delivered crates of small milk bottles to schools, the contents measured one-third of a pint and cost a half-penny. Wooden crates held 20 bottles, metal crates 30 and boys were used as Milk Monitors to deliver them to classrooms. I have a memory of pint bottles having a broader top and a thick card circular top with a small diameter push-through centre hole. Presumably the hole in the OP picture indicated where to penetrate a foil top.    In the cold winters the sparrows would peck through the shiny foil tops of bottles left on the doorstep, but in freezing conditions a frozen column of milk would force the tops off saving them the trouble !

[lysander]

Milk was delivered to schools long after the ending of the War and your memories of frozen milk brings back many memories to this old "milk monitor". In fact free milk was authorised by the Labour Government in a 1946 Act...which was rescinded by Mrs Thatcher ( Maggie the milk snatcher) in 1971.

[LeadFarmer]

As a junior school kid in the late 70's and early 80's I seem to recall the initials CWS on the bottles of milk. We used to joke that the letters stood for 'Cow wee special'. Anyone know what they did stand for?

[Voldy]

Yes,    Co-operative Wholesale Society.

[LeadFarmer]

1 hour ago, Voldy said:

Yes,    Co-operative Wholesale Society.

Thanks, but you've just shattered my dreams, I was hoping it really was 'cow wee special'. 

[Unitedite Returns]

16 hours ago, John Russell said:

Aha! Then it must be to emboss the caps?

You are quite correct.

 

They are indeed, inter-changeable milk bottle-top closure stamps.

Once the bottle was filled, it was closed by an aluminium foil lid.

The lids were stamped out of a roll of aluminium foil, which was dropped onto the top of the filled milk bottle and then pressure was applied around the rim of the bottle in order to ensure a snug and tight-fit.

The wording on the top of the aluminium foil lid was impressed into the lid, at the time that it was stamped out.

These brass stamps were made by Edward Pryor and Son Limited, then of Broom Street, Sheffield, whom I believe, still manufacture and sell coding equipment in Sheffield.

The circular hole within the right-hand stamp was where a series of letters, or numbers could be inserted separately, so that a daily stock rotation, or use-by / sell-by code could also be applied.

[History dude]

On 23/12/2017 at 17:52, lysander said:

Milk was delivered to schools long after the ending of the War and your memories of frozen milk brings back many memories to this old "milk monitor". In fact free milk was authorised by the Labour Government in a 1946 Act...which was rescinded by Mrs Thatcher ( Maggie the milk snatcher) in 1971.

Infact most local authorities had stopped issuing milk to children well before Mrs T stepped in. It was simply going off as fridges were not common in 1971. It was also costing a lot of money and may kids would not drink it.

At Prince Edwards my mum used to bring me up some coffee in a flask during the break, because I wouldn't drink the milk. Until the head pulled her up about it and forced me to drink the milk. That was in the 60's!

Mrs T got a lot of flack for that milk thing, but she should have been roasted for increasing the school leaving age to 16, for that caused more economic problems than anything else and also several children committed suicide rather than stay on at school. Her excuse was that she was for-filling a broken Labour pledge to increase the school leaving age.