Our investigation concludes with one of the most elusive artifacts in the history of Oak Island. In Part 2, we discussed the 1901 bone/ivory whistle being added to the mystery. Evidence suggests that this whistle was conflated with the 1885 bone/ivory whistle, but neither was the original that was first reported in “The Oak Island Treasure Company Prospectus of 1893”. This led to the 1885/1901 whistle coming into the possession of Mel Chappell. Chappell had the whistle from 1963 until his death in 1980. Chappell described it in an interview as a “17th century device” that was found by his father, William Chappell. He then changed his story after being questioned, and then stated that he didn’t know where it came from. Its current whereabouts are unknown.
This is where researchers have usually hit a roadblock and have not been successful in locating or identifying the whistle. Compendium Investigations has had some success in the latter. We have completed a comprehensive investigation, consulting with whistle experts and other professionals from around the world and we will present our findings. It’s important to note that these evaluations came strictly from a picture. The experts did not handle the whistle in person, and gave their analysis based on the picture. The experts have assured us that even though it is preferred to handle the object directly, it is enough to render a very solid identification of the type of whistle and where it originated.
The first opinion that we found was a pre-existing one. It was rendered by the “Whistle Museum", which is "a website dedicated to whistles, research and collecting whistles. By Avner Strauss.” This message was left on the website for Mr. Strauss to answer. “Brent, November 4, 2018… Have you seen the oak island bosun whistle? I'm looking for more information on it. If you have not seen it. You can google: oak island bosum whistle or go to this link….Any insite knowledge or info you can give me on where this would have been made, or used. And possibly any dates. Would be much apretiated”.
Mr. Strauss responded: “HI Brent I looked at it and sorry to disappoint you. THIS IS NOT a Boatswain’s pipe or whistle it is a bone made part of a whistle and rattle toy that was made for a the poorer people BABIES c 18th 19th century, I HAD FEW AND IT TOOK FEW YEARS TO ENCOUNTER FULL ONES – NOT MISSING THE TOP - TO REALIZE. Thanks for the comment! Regards Avner”.
During our research we came across references that used this opinion stating that the Oak Island Whistle was in fact a toy/rattle/soother/whistle that was broken into two separate pieces. We discovered that Avner Strauss is an authority on whistles, specifically manufactured whistles. Strauss runs the Whistle Museum and has spent a great deal of time researching catalogs and collecting whistles. He has written many articles about the History of whistle manufacturers in the 1800’s.
The Oak Island Whistle appears to be mostly hand-carved and not mass produced. After looking at some examples of these toy/rattle/soother/whistles, they don't appear to be a good match for the Oak Island artifact. The only place that the Oak Island whistle could be broken off is the top. It has a decorative finial type design that doesn’t appear to be conducive to being connected to another piece, like a rattle, because it is too thin. This is apparent in the pictures that we have provided.
The Compendium was unsatisfied with this identification due to these factors. We sought out opinions from other whistle experts from around the world that included The United Kingdom, The United States, Australia, and France. The Compendium contacted French whistle expert, Jacques Bokobsa. He is an authority on whistles and has a vast collection. In 2021, he wrote a book titled, “"Il était une fois le sifflet - histoire d'une collection” (Once upon a time, the whistle - history of a collection), with an introduction by Pierre Catanès, another whistle expert that we contacted. Avner Strauss, who was previously mentioned, had these comments about the book and author, “The most fascinating and outstanding book about whistles to have come in decades… A must for any whistle enthusiast, researcher, collector and scholar.” Strauss said of Jacques Bokobsa, “A world class, legendary collector”.
Mr. Bokobsa told the Compendium that the Oak Island whistle looks like an example of a French Napoleonic POW bone whistle, produced in the early 1800’s. Two other experts we consulted, one not wanting to be identified, also said the Oak Island Whistle exhibited the characteristics of a French POW item. Mr. Bokobsa called it a probable “pontoon whistle” and stated that he believed it was likely a unique piece handcrafted by a sailor. He stated it was “a beautiful whistle.” The other whistle that is shown in the pictures below is a comparable example, very similar in shape to the Oak Island Whistle. It is part of Mr. Bokobsa's collection, he also identifies it as a probable French Napoleonic POW bone whistle.
Similarities between Jacques Bokobsa's whistle and the Oak Island whistle:
The decorative finial design at the top of the whistles are almost identical on both pieces.
Both pieces are made of bone.
The main body part of both whistles is flattened.
Both pieces have a ribbed design on the sides.
A difference is that one has a finger hole, the other does not. However, it’s possible that the decorative circles on the second whistle may have been intended as finger holes that were never completed.
The Napoleonic War Era was around 1800-1815. French Emperor Napoleon did not believe in prisoner exchanges, so there were well over 100,000 French prisoners that were being held in great numbers in the United Kingdom and its territories. Prisoners were allowed to produce trade goods that were sold to the general public. There are many examples of these goods that are extremely intricate and exquisitely hand carved as our pictures illustrate. Although we were happy with our findings, we didn’t stop there. We contacted museums worldwide to obtain additional opinions. We contacted, The Smithsonian Institution, The British Museum, The National Trus UK, The National Maritime Museum-Cornwall UK, Royal Museums Greenwich UK, The US Naval Academy Museum, Musée de l'Armée at Les Invalides in Paris, France and many more. Most of the museums could not help us and did not know anything about these items.
We were fortunate to contact The Saffron Walden Museum. The nearest prisoner-of-war camp to the museum was Norman Cross, near Peterborough, UK. The museum has a collection of these items. Collections officer, Jenny Oxley, confirmed that the Oak Island whistle did indeed seem to be typical of one of these POW items. We also heard from Paul Finegan, Curator at Dartmoor Prison Museum, HMP Dartmoor who said, “I would conclude that in all probability that the item you have / had is an example of French prisoner of war work.” We heard from Dr. Kathryn Bedford, curator for Portchester Castle, through English Heritage, which housed Napoleonic POW’s. She stated that it is possible that the whistle was produced by Napoleonic French prisoners. She also stated that a simple lathe was used for the top of this whistle. Prisoners were allowed to keep and use tools and often collaborated with other prisoners on the more complex pieces they produced.
The Compendium wants to thank all the whistle and museum experts for their assistance.
