Prismatic binoculars, No.5 Mk II : Reverend Captain H P Woodburn, British Army

Prismatic binoculars, No.5 Mk II. The 50 mm field service binoculars are painted black and have a magnification of x7. The Bakelite eye pieces are individually tuned to achieve focus and are graduated from approximately -5 to +6. The binoculars pivot on two centrally fitted hinges to adjust their width. The body of the binoculars is covered with a textured black Bakelite imitation leather finish. The left rear face is marked with 'BINO.PRISM.No5 MkII x7', 'No 13311' and a broad arrow. Marked on the right rear face is 'GRATICULES 1/2° APART and 1/4° 1/2° AND 1° HIGH', the maker, 'ROSS LONDON', the year, '1940' and a broad arrow. An adjustable khaki strap made cotton webbing is attached to the binoculars.

99316 Reverend Captain Henry Pearson Woodburn, a chaplain with the British Army, collected these binoculars during his service on Malta while the Mediterranean island was under siege in 1940-42. Malta was of great strategic importance to the Allied forces and was one of the most intensely bombed areas of the Second World War. The binoculars are thought to have been issued to the crew of an anti-aircraft gun emplacement which defended Malta from attacks from Italian and German aircraft.