I think the cans held the standard No.83 smoke grenade and were intended (mostly) for use by the infantry for marking and signalling purposes. The can would protect the grenade until it was required for use. The design does not appear to have changed much since WW2, it's still a metal can with a cotter-pin retained fly-off handle, though the modern ones appear to be deep-drawn or splash-formed aluminium or plastic moulded casings instead of the old 'food tin' construction with a rolled closure at each end.
There's also a cheaper (I assume) version with a screw-off plastic cap and pull-cord igniter. (I think those are available commercially for distress signals and possibly the paintball fraternity.)
I used to have a (fired) No.83 grenade, the igniter was a .22 rimfire cap (vented at the back) crimped onto a length of Bickford safety fuse. (You could extract this and use it to fire .22 blackpowder blanks as a bird scarer or similar.)
Chris. (G8KGS)
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