'Dubois' 1945 Carved Trench Art Wooden Plaque

This one is a bit of a mystery! It appears to be hand carved and features in the centre, in relief, what appears to be a native American Indian ; above is the name 'Dubois' and below the date 1945. The seller had no information in regard to its origins but we assumed it perhaps referred to a North American vessel of the same name. Research on line has so far yielded no further information but what we have found are several references to the US town of Dubois, in whose streets Butch Cassidy was known to have walked and it in turn is located adjacent to the Wind River Indian Reservation. Distinctive petroglyphs, or rock art, pecked and carved on rocks in the Dinwoody and Torrey basins near Dubois are thought to have been the work of ancestors of the modern-day Shoshone Indian tribes.

So that is as far as we have got but if any visitors to the site can add any background to this object we would be happy to update our listing. The plaque measures 5.75" diameter (14.5 cm) and carries a loop on the reverse for wall hanging. We assume it was crafted in 1945 and we speculate this fine piece of trench art was carved by a US serviceman whilst serving in the European theatre in late WWII and has clearly been very skilfully worked. How this fine object of probably North American origins turned up in South West England remains another mystery but it could well have been produced in theatre and given as a present to a girl over here before the serviceman was shipped back Stateside. This is pure speculation but we feel that after 73 years it is perhaps time it was repatriated!