A brass trench art military cap snuff box, with engraved inscription from the South Staffordshire Regiment, dating back to World War I. The snuff box is realistically modelled in the shape of an Officers cap, these were made from shell casings. The cap visor acts as the thumb piece to open the hinged lid, which is in excellent condition. The top of the cap is engraved "Sergt. Major A. Wilson. 11th. S. Staffs. Regt - 1915." The South Staffordshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment created in 1881, they served in the Anglo Boer War, WWI and WWII. During WWI they served on the Western front, Gallipoli, Egypt, Italy and Dublin (the 1916 Easter Rising). The Regiment raised a total of 18 battalions and was awarded 66 battle honours, 3 Victoria Crosses and lost 6,357 men during the course of the war. The 11th Battalion was a reserve unit formed in Jersey 1914, and was absorbed into training reserve battalion in 1916. We have not been able to trace Sergeant Major Wilson, all assistance appreciated.
A collection of 6 silver South African Military wrist identification tags (dog tags) dating back to World War II, and specifically the campaign in Egypt. They are all wrist identification tags, as 5 still have their original silver wrist chains, we are not sure if they were military issue or if they were purchased privately (we suspect the latter as they all have different designs) We believe them all to be sterling silver, 4 are clearly hallmarked with Egyptian hallmarks, the cat standard mark, and Arabic town marks and date letters (Cairo and date letter I for 1940 are present, amongst others). The 5th is hallmarked "Sterg" for sterling and makers mark HA&S (possibly Henry Allday & Son of Birmingham), and the 6th has a partial mark "ling" which we suspect was Sterling. The 6 tags are as follows: 1- "Maj. D. Macdonald Pres Cameron Highlanders" - with HA&S mark, fob chain, end loop missing. 2- "Lt W.T. Arthur Pres 193790", with ling hallmark, fob chain, end loop missing, solder repairs. 3- "SPR E. Gillespie N...
A German sterling silver cigarette case, made in 1936 to commemorative the Winter Olympics held in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, which at the time was under Nazi rule. The Cigarette case in the usual rectangular shape, with a slight curve on both sides, with a push button clasp. The case is planished (hand hammered) in Arts & Crafts style on both sides, and is very pleasing quality, it is a pleasure to hold and use. The front is engraved with the 5 Olympic rings, with "GARMISCH - PARTENKIRCHEN 1936" below, this is filled with black enamel, note the slight enamel loss on 3 letters. The interior is gilded, and is engraved with previous owners name "T. BOSCH". The case is clearly hallmarked with 4 hallmarks, all on the clasp, they include German moon and crown, makers mark LW entwined in a shield for Lutz & Weiss, 925 and STERLING standard marks. The winter Olympics were held in February 1936, this was followed by the summer Olympics in Berlin in July 1936 (the last time the winter and summer Olympics were he...