Birmingham based, Townson & Coxson, were one of the many UK companies producing paraffin stoves before, during and after World War II. Just about all of them were copies of the Swedish Primus which was the first of its type back in the 1890’s. Quite how the international patent laws work, we are not sure, but this Burmos Touring Stove 21 seems to be very similar to a Primus 210, though the manufacturers, Townson & Coxson did have a few ‘tweaks’. They patented the screw system on the burner head in 1943, allowing easy access to the jet for cleaning and removal; the little clip on pilot light was another extra. Paraffin stoves needed to be pre-heated in order to get high enough temperatures to vapourise the liquid. Methylated spirit was used in the ring cup below the burner head for this purpose. Having also been soaked in methylated spirit the pilot light, clipped to the burner, provided a form of permanent match during the lighting process. The lovely little example that we have here in the collection is post 1943 as it has the patented screw on the burner head and it also has the Burmos logo stuck onto the tank rather than stamped into it, which indicates a slightly later version – circa 1955/60.