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NELSON & THE BATTLE OF THE NILE, 1798
a commemorative paper fan titled Glorious Victory of the Nile, 1st August 1798, the vane printed in monochrome with central portrait of Nelson surrounded by flags and trophies, and flanked by two large ovals containing patriotic verse, top edge bound with silvered paper (tarnished) and with bone lower sticks, some old repairs to the vane but nevertheless a very rare survival, extreme width - 17½in. (44.5cm.)
£600-800
Literature: Nelson, An Illustrated History, National Maritime Museum, 1995, p.95, illustrated
All fans which commemorate the British naval victories of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars are considered rare and most of the few examples recorded celebrate Nelson's final and greatest triumph at Trafalgar. Those for his other victories, including the Nile, are even rarer.
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DAVIDSON'S NILE MEDAL, 1798
in bronze gilt by Conrad Küchler the edge inscribed A tribute of regard from Alex Davison Esq., St. James's Square - 1¾in. (4.7cm.) diam
£200-300
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THREE 18TH CENTURY PRINTS OF THE BATTLE OF THE NILE BY ROBERT DODD
engraved by the artist and with his titles along lower edge, with views of the action at sunset, 10 o'clock and midnight - Pl. 19 x 27½in (48 x 70cm.)
(3)
£200-400
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A 19TH CENTURY SAMPSON WARE PLATE AFTER THE BALTIC SERVICE
the oak leaf rim with swags inscribed Nelson San Josef 22nd April, the centre with coat of arms for Nelson (worn) - 9¼in. (23.5cm.) diam
£250-350
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NELSON & THE BATTLE OF THE NILE, 1798
an entertaining paper fan titled Nelson Victory, the vane printed in monochrome, the upper section listing the ships and their numbers of guns in the English and French lines of battle, and the main body announcing the names and steps of "18 new Country Dances for 1799" mostly relating to naval themes, top edge bound with golden paper (tarnished) and with boxwood lower sticks, minor foxing but another very rare and apparently unrecorded survival, extreme width 18½in. (47cm.)
£600-800
Exhibited: The Trafalgar Bicentenary Exhibition, 2005, Fan Museum, Greenwich, no. 25 (with exhibition label).
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ORME'S NAVAL VICTORIES, CIRCA 1817
hand-coloured and untrimmed, contained within matching set of near contemporary chiselled gilt brass frames - each 3¾in. (9.5cm.) square
(12)
£200-300
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A BILSTONWARE PATCH BOX CELEBRATING THE PEACE OF AMIENS, CIRCA 1803
the lid with two allegories of Fame and Plenty inscribed Fame proclaiming her Hero's Peace with Plenty, her trumpet inscribed within a swag Duncan; Jervis; Abercrombie; Nelson & Howe, the lid with internal mirror hinged to blue enamel body - 2in. (5cm.) diam
£400-600
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JOHN CLEVELEY THE YOUNGER (BRITISH, 1747-1786)
H.M.S. 'Carcass' in company with H.M.S. 'Racehorse' in search of the North West Passage
Watercolour over pen and ink
6½ x 10¼in. (16.5 x 26cm.)
£1,500-2,500
One of seven 'Infernal' class bomb-ketchs ordered in 1758, Carcass measured 309 tons and was just 91 feet long with a beam of 28 feet. The sturdy construction necessary for bomb-ketches made her an ideal candidate to convert for Arctic exploration. Capt. Constantine Phipps commanded the 1773 expedition from the Racehorse (another converted bomb-ketch) which left the Nore in June 1773. By the end of July both ships were icebound and were fortunate that a change in the weather allowed them to escape back to Britain - luckily preserving the young Horatio Nelson. As a fifteen-year-old midshipman on Carcass, this adventure was to be his first significant brush with danger and included his famous encounter with a polar bear. The Carcass was sold out of the service in 1784.
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AFTER CLARKSON FREDRICK STANFIELD RA (BRITISH, 1793-1867)
'Victory' approaching Gibraltar under tow from 'Neptune' after the Battle of Trafalgar
Engraving
Pl 22½ x 30in. (57 x 76cm.) in ornate gilt 'Trafalgar' frame
£300-500
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W.H. BRICE (EARLY 20TH CENTURY)
Study of a two-decker, possibly H.M.S. 'Neptune'
Signed and dated 'W.H. Brice 1910' (lower right)
Watercolour
8½ x 12in. (21.5 x 30.5cm.)
£80-120
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ATTRIBUTED TO HENRY EDRIDGE (BRITISH, 1768-1821)
Nelson as Victor of Copenhagen, circa 1801
Pencil and grey wash
14¼ x 7in. (36 x 17.8cm.)
£3,000-5,000
This interesting view of Nelson was recently discovered amongst a large quantity of assorted prints. A heroic view of Nelson, he is depicted with Copenhagen and its distinctive warehouses ablaze behind him whilst, at his feet, Marianne of France - recognisable by the sans-culottes cap and shattered Fasces (the Roman emblem of power) - lies prone at his feet with his sword tip resting upon her throat. Whilst it serves as a potent image of the Danes defeat and thereby a major blow to France and her ambitions in the Baltic (and by extension, Russia), it was probably deemed ungallant as the vanquished girl at his feet is presented as a fragile beauty and perhaps more magnanimity should be shown in victory, so it is likely a rejected print design, but one that happens to show a radiant and handsome Nelson. Although Nelson was supposed to be subordinate to Admiral Hyde Parker at the Battle of Copenhagen, his famous audacity in raising his telescope to his blind eye when ordered to withdraw, commenting "I really do not see the signal" has become one of the most iconic moments in naval history and the idiom of 'turning a blind eye' to ignore undesirable information has entered the English, if not global dialect. Edridge produced two or three full length views of Nelson - a signed example ascribed to 1802 may be viewed at the National Museum of the Royal Navy, Portsmouth, also in undress uniform, but hatless. The hat on this example sports a finely detailed view of his famous Chelengk, awarded after the Battle of the Nile by Sultan Selim III in 1798, it appears to conform closely to the re-constituted version recently researched, produced and written about by Nelson authority Martyn Downer in Nelson's Lost Jewel (published by The History Press, London 2017) suggesting Edridge may have had a first-hand view of this unique decoration.
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A COPPER BUST OF NELSON FOR THE BRITISH AND FOREIGN SAILORS' SOCIETY, CIRCA 1905
modelled after John Flaxman, inscribed on the base with usual inscriptions stating that the copper is from Victory, mounted on an ebonised plinth - the bust: 5in. (13cm.) high; together with four other items of Victory copper; a Victory treen barrel, a base metal Boulton medal for Trafalgar and late 19thC miniature of Nelson
(8)
£200-300
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A 19TH CENTURY PARIANWARE BUST OF NELSON BY ROBINSON & LEADBEATER
the back impressed Nelson together with maker's mark - 7½in. (19cm.) high; together with salt-glaze portrait jug of Nelson by Doulton & Watts, Lambeth - 6¼in. (16cm.) high; and a late 19thC Staffordshire character jug
(3)
£250-350
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A 19TH CENTURY POTTERY CHARACTER JUG OF LORD NELSON
depicted half-length with orders and decorations, his hat serving as a spout - 8in. (20.5cm.) high
£200-300
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A 20TH CENTURY MODEL DIORAMA FOR A NAVAL 24LB GUN POSITION OF CIRCA 1805
the 9¼in., 11 bore five-stage tapering barrel with 'GR' cypher, crown and proof marks, brass and steel firing mechanism to touch hole and looped cascabel, mounted on a stepped naval type carriage with wooden trucks, rigged with blocks and tackle to a planked and pinned deck, flanked with gunner's tools in racks with simulated wooden shot in racks, mounted on ebonised display base with perspex cover - overall 16 x 14 x 10in. (41 x 35.5 x 25.5cm.)
£400-600
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A 19TH CENTURY NAVAL CROWN CONSTRUCTED FROM TREEN AND COPPER RECOVERED FROM H.M.S. VICTORY
carved in black oak and lighter wood and secured to a fret-cut template of copper sheathing scratch inscribed Victory copper and wood - 8 x 11in. (20.5 x 28cm.)
£500-800
The use of black oak indicates very old, possibly original wood from H.M.S. Victory was used, having been removed in one of the many 19th century refits.
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A WOODEN SERVING MALLET FROM H.M.S. LION, CIRCA 1809
the head inscribed Joseph Miller 1809, the turned handle terminating with a carved seated lion holding a shield inscribed H.M.S. Lion - 11½in. (29cm.) long
£200-400
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AN EARLY 19TH CENTURY TREEN BOSUN'S STARTER
with turned handle, leather joint to bulbous head - 16in. (40.5cm.) long
£150-250
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A PAIR OF 19TH CENTURY ½IN. BORE SIGNAL GUNS
the tapering five-stage barrels with touch hole and acorn cascabel, mounted to iron stirrup with support spur and swivel mounted to 6in. square wooden base with metal lined socket (one seized) - 9 x 9in. (23 x 23cm.)
(2)
£500-800
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Ø AN ATTRACTIVE MIDSHIPMAN'S DIRK, CIRCA 1780
the 10½in. curved and blued etched steel blade, gilt brass acorn leaf quillons, ivory handle with cross banded grip and lion's mane back plate; together with leather and gilt-brass scabbard of issue (parted in middle) - 14in (35.5cm.) long overall
£800-1,200
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NICHOLAS POCOCK (BRITISH, 1740-1821)
The engagement between H.M.S. 'Northumberland' and a French squadron
Watercolour on wove paper
18¼ x 28¼in. (46.5 x 72cm.)
(2, a pair)
£2,000-3,000
Early in 1812, Rear-Admiral Sir Harry Neale, commanding the Channel Fleet, found himself facing the problem of a small but powerful French squadron, under Commodore Martin le Foretier and consisting of two 40-gun frigates, Arienne and Andromaque, in company with the 16-gun brig Mamelouck, loose on the open sea having broken the blockade and come out of Nantes under orders to disrupt British and other shipping in the Western Approaches
The 74-gun HMS Northumberland (Captain Hotham) was ordered to cruise off Lorient and await the three French vessels which were expected there. On 22nd May, the enemy vessels were spotted off the Ile de Groix and Hotham ordered the 12-gun brig Growler, which was fortunately close by, to chase them while he sailed around the island to cut off their approach to Lorient. Realising that his original direct approach had been cut off, the French Commodore decided to run between Northumberland and the rocky shore, under the protection of the friendly shore batteries, and thereby attempt to reach his destination. Considering it unsafe to stand his own ship that close to the shore given her size, Hotham followed a parallel course to the French and prepared to engage them with broadside fire from a range of about 400 yards. Hotham and his Sailing Master, Hugh Stewart, had already hatched a daring plan in which they would sail as close as they dared to the Graul Rock, knowing that the French would have to sail between it and their ship, and then destroy them with massive broadsides. Unfortunately there was insufficient depth of water to allow them to pass between the rock and the mainland and any manoeuvring was made more difficult by the fact that the clouds of powder smoke were obscuring the rock from sight. Receiving fire from shore batteries and from the powerful French frigates, Northumberland passed within 200 feet of the rock and the French, as expected, tried to pass inside, between the rock and the mainland.
At 15.45, both frigates ran aground and at 15.50, the brig followed. With her sails and rigging damaged, Northumberland was forced to retire out of range to effect repairs to her sails and rigging, leaving the three French vessels stranded by the falling tide. At 16.22, Northumberland returned to the scene to find the three French vessels now hard aground and heeling over. At 16.48, the Mamelouck cut away her mainmast in an attempt to lighten ship and try to escape. At 17.00, Growler arrived on the scene and, being much smaller, closed the range and opened fire with her 18-pdr. carronades. At 17.23, the Arienne's mainmast was shot away by Growler's fire and at 17.28 Northumberland anchored in six and a half fathoms of water and opened fire on the three French vessels with her starboard broadside. Hotham had chosen his position well: his ship was out of range of all but one of the shore batteries and the enemy vessels were helpless. At 17.55, the Andromaque caught fire and five minutes later, her fore-topmast fell and her crew were seen to abandon ship in the boats. By now the flames were spreading fast and at 18.45, the Andromaque's main and mizzen masts fell. At 18.49, the tide was fully out, the Andromaque was completely engulfed in flames and the other ship's bottoms were so badly damaged that they would fill with water when the tide came in. Captain Hotham decided that the time had come to leave the scene, so Northumberland got under way and moved out of range of one shore battery which could fire on her. All the while, Northumberland had been coming under fire from this shore battery and it had done some damage and caused casualties aboard her. Four of her seamen and one of her Royal Marines had been killed and Lieutenant William Fletcher, three Petty Officers, 19 seamen and five Royal Marines had been wounded. When Northumberland ceased fire, Growler closed the range again and opened fire in order to prevent the French crews from returning to their vessels. At 20.00, the Andromaque blew up and was totally destroyed. At 22.00, the Arienne was seen to be on fire and by 23.30 was engulfed in flames. Mamelouck by this time was lying on her side and was also on fire. At 02.30 the following day, Arienne blew up and later that day, Mamelouck was also destroyed by an explosion.
The first painting depicts H.M.S. Northumberland at the beginning of the engagement, intercepting the French frigates Arienne and Andromaque and the brig Mamelouck as they tried to cut between the Northumberland and the rocky shore with Northumberland opening up broadsides against the French vessels.
The second painting shows the engagement at about 16.30. The three French vessels have run aground on Graul Rock. Arienne's mainmast has been shot away (far left), and the brig Mamelouck (center) is lying on her side. Northumberland has returned from making repairs and is shown at anchor whilst firing her starboard broadsides.
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ATTRIBUTED WILLIAM LIONEL WYLLIE (BRITISH, 1851-1931)
A Napoleonic naval engagement
Watercolour
11 x 18in. (28 x 45.5cm.)
£400-600
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AFTER JAMES C. SCHETKY: A SERIES OF FOUR VIEWS OF THE CHESAPEAKE AND SHANNON, CIRCA 1830
coloured lithographs by Haghe, published by Smith & Elder and contained with original wrapper, plate size - 15 x 18½in. (38 x 47cm.)
(4)
£300-500
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TOMMASO DE SIMONE (ITALIAN, C1805-1888)
H.M.S. 'James Watt' at gunnery practice in the Bay of Naples
Signed and dated 'De Simone 1861' (lower right)
Oil on board
17½ x 25½in. (44.5 x 64.5cm.)
£3,000-5,000
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A 19TH CENTURY ½IN. BORE MODEL OF A MUZZLE-LOADING NAVAL GUN OF CIRCA 1880
the 10in. three-stage barrel with touch hole and possible proof marks, loosely mounted on a wooden naval type carriage with wood trucks - 7 x 11in. (18 x 28cm.)
£300-500
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A 19TH CENTURY ½IN. BORE MODEL FOR A MUZZLE-LOADING NAVAL GUN OF CIRCA 1880
the 9¼in. three-stage barrel with touch hole, mounted on stepped wooden carriage with brass trucks - 6 x 11in. (15 x 28cm.)
£250-350
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A WOOD AND BRASS MODEL OF A ROYAL NAVY 32LB MUZZLE-LOADING GUN, CIRCA 1880
the 5½in. four-stage barrel with cascabel and trunnions secured to stepped wooden naval type stand with brass wheels and lashing rings and elevation chock - overall measurements 3½ x 7in. (9 x 18cm.)
£150-250
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WILLIAM FREDERICK MITCHELL (BRITISH, 1845-1914)
H.M.S. 'Challenger' on Expedition 1872-76
Signed 'W.F. Mitchell' (lower right)
Watercolour heightened with bodycolour
5 x 8¼in. (12.5 x 21cm.)
£250-350
Challenger was built at Woolwich in 1858. Classed as a screw corvette and ship-rigged on three masts, she displaced 2,306 tons. Originally armed with twenty 8in. guns and two huge 68-pounders, she pursued an active naval career for fourteen years before being converted into a survey ship in 1872. The largest vessel ever supplied for an oceanographic expedition up to that date, Challenger was placed under the command of Captain George Nares. Sailing from Sheerness on 7th December 1872 and carrying a team of six distinguished civilian scientists, the first ten months of the voyage were spent in the Atlantic which the ship crossed three times. After a seven-week stay at Cape Town, Challenger departed for the Southern Ocean on 17th December 1872 and, shortly after Christmas, made a brief stopover at Kerguelen Island, roughly midway between South Africa and Australia although much nearer the Antarctic Continent in latitude 50ºS. When the ship finally dropped anchor at Spithead on 24th May 1876, she had travelled an extraordinary 68,890 miles. The information gathered during the three-and-a-half year expedition, particularly from the deep soundings of the ocean floors, was of immense importance and, once the multi-volumed report was published, both ship and her commander achieved considerable acclaim. She was retired in 1880 and relegated to a harbour hulk at Chatham where she remained useful until finally sold out of the Service in 1921.
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'RECORDS OF A VOYAGE TO THE WESTERN COAST OF AFRICA, IN HIS MAJESTY'S SHIP DRYAD, AND OF THE SERVICE ON THAT STATION FOR THE SUPPRESSION OF THE SLAVE TRADE IN THE YEARS 1830, 1831, AND 1832.'
Peter Leonard for William Tait, Edinburgh, 1833, small 8vo. 3-page list of vessels engaged in the slave trade at end, contemporary calf-backed marbled boards - 6¾ x 4¼in. (17 x 10.5cm.)
£200-300
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WILLIAM HENRY KEARNEY (BRITISH, 1800-1858)
Studies of Greenwich Pensioners circa 1820
Signed 'WH Kearney' (lower left)
Coloured chalks
11 x 8in. (28 x 20.5cm.)
(2, a pair)
£200-300
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WILLIAM FREDERICK MITCHELL (BRITISH, 1845-1914)
H.M. Ships 'Monarch' (1885-1891); 'Temeraire'; and 'Neptune' (1879-1888)
Watercolour
Each signed 'W.F. Mitchell', and two dated as per title
The largest 6 x 9¼in. (15 x 23.5cm.)
(3)
£250-350
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A VICTORIAN SILVER BOSUN'S CALL
of typical form with wriggle work keel inscribed one side To G. Trice from H.M.S. Temeraire from 84 to 87, with Birmingham hallmarks for Hilliard & Thomason, 1883 - 4½in. (11.5cm.) long
£200-300
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δ ERIC TUFNELL (BRITISH, 1888-1978)
H.M.Training Ship 'Worcester' at anchor, Greenhithe
Signed 'E.Tufnell' (lower right) and inscribed 'Worcester at Greenhithe' (lower left)
Watercolour
7 x 10¼in. (18 x 26cm.)
£150-250
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ROBERT CHARLES GUSTAVE LAURENS MOLS (DUTCH, 1848-1903)
Portsmouth
Inscribed on artist's label on reverse
Oil on panel
8 x 12½in. (20.5 x 32cm.)
£800-1,200
Provenance: With N.R. Omell
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A 'GREEN' PATTERN TASSE DE GLACE FROM THE R.Y. VICTORIA & ALBERT III
made by Spode for T. Goode & Co., London, with alternating emblems for the royal yacht and Edward VII - 3in. (7.5cm.) high overall
£250-350
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A DECORATIVE LAMP BASE BELIEVED TO BE FROM THE R.Y. VICTORIA & ALBERT III
constructed in nickel-plated brass in the form of a dolphin with rock and shell form hexagonal base, the tail supporting a bayonet electric light fitting, with key turn on/off switch - 14½in. (37cm.) high
£250-350
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GEORGE MEARS (BRITISH, 1826-1906)
The Royal Yacht 'Victoria & Albert II' in the Solent
Signed and dated 'G Mears 1873' (lower right)
Oil on canvas
17½ x 35in. (44.5 x 89.5cm.)
£3,000-5,000
The second royal steam yacht to be named Victoria & Albert was built at Pembroke Dock and launched on 16th January 1855. Displacing 2,470 tons she was the largest royal yacht of the Victorian era and remained in service until the very end of the Queen's long life. So successful was the yacht that, almost immediately, she became a much-loved floating home to Queen Victoria and Prince Albert with the result that, after the Prince Consort's untimely death in 1861, the Queen would neither allow anything on board to be changed nor even contemplate the idea of a modern screw-powered replacement until compelled to do so by the yacht's increasing obsolescence in the mid-1890s. The old paddle yacht's last official voyage was to carry the Queen to and from her visit to Ireland in April 1900, by which time a new yacht was fitting out to replace her. In the event, Queen Victoria died before the third Victoria & Albert could be commissioned and the Queen was spared the sadness of watching her favourite yacht going to the breakers in 1904.
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A COLLECTION OF ASSORTED ROYAL YACHT DINING WARE
comprising a porcelain soup tureen, cover and stand; a shaped vegetable side plate; a bowl; a copper covered cooking pot and spoon; together with a manuscript menu from the R.Y. Osborne dated 19th May 1899; a piece of treen from the first Victoria & Albert in the form of a book
(7)
£400-600
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WILLIAM FREDERICK MITCHELL (BRITISH, 1845-1914)
H.M. Ships 'Canopus' and 'Exmouth'
Signed and dated 'W. Fred Mitchell' '1905' & '1906' (lower right) and numbered (lower left) '2486' and '2487'
5 x 7in. (12.5 x 18cm.)
(2, a pair)
£300-500
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CHARLES DIXON (BRITISH, 1872-1934)
Awaiting the President
Signed, inscribed and dated 'Charles Dixon / Awaiting the President / 1913' (lower left)
Watercolour heightened with bodycolour
5 x 14¾in. (12.5 x 37.5cm.)
£500-800
This view shows the British fleet awaiting the arrival of Raymond Poincare, the French President. Poincare, having negotiated the Entente Cordiale of 1904 was keen to strengthen British relations with France's key ally, Russia which he believed was a vital counter-balance to German aggression. Britain was equally keen to preserve her 'Imperial Isolation' and regarded the Entente somewhat less strategically than the emphasis France wished it to imply. This state visit took place on 14th June 1913 - almost exactly one year before the Sarajevo assassinations which catapulted Europe into World War One.
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THE SHIP'S BELL FROM H.M.S. AFRICA (1905) THE FIRST BRITISH SHIP FROM WHICH AN AIRCRAFT WAS FLOWN, 10TH JANUARY, 1912
cast in brass with red-filled lettering inscribed H.M.S. AFRICA and loop suspension (suspension adapted from crown type; clapper later) - 13 x 12½in. (33 x 32cm.); together with iron bracket for wall suspension
£1,000-1,500
The first powered flight from a ship was achieved by the American Eugene Ely (1886-1911) on 14th November, 1910. It wasn't long before the Royal Navy saw the benefit of using planes at sea and began their own experiments. These culminated in success when Lt Charles Samson (1883-1931) climbed into the cockpit of a Gnome-engined Short Improved S.27 pusher seaplane and, on 10th January 1912, took off from H.M.S. Africa (moored in the Medway, Kent) from a runway mounted over her 12in. gun barrels. The aircraft moved quickly down the runway, dipped slightly after leaving it, but then pulled up and climbed easily. Samson circled Africa several times to the cheers of the crew and, after a few minutes, landed safely at an airfield ashore.
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GILBERT E WILKINSON, EARLY 20TH CENTURY NAVAL SCHOOL
Silhouettes of H.M. Ships 'Queen Mary' and 'Repulse' circa 1916
Watercolour and bodycolour
12 x 25in. (30.5 x 63.5cm.)
(2, a pair)
£300-500
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WILLIAM LIONEL WYLLIE, RA (BRITISH, 1851-1931)
H.M.S. 'Southampton' in action at Jutland, 31st May 1916
Signed and dated 'W.L. Wyllie 1919' (lower left)
Watercolour
10 x 16¼in. (25.5 x 41cm.)
£500-800
Provenance: Original illustration used in the More Sea Fights of the Great War including the Battle of Jutland by Wyllie, Owen and Kirkpatrick, published Cassell & Co., London, 1919, p121
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ARTHUR BRISCOE (BRITISH, 1873-1943)
The destroyer H.M.S. 'Ursula' (F01) at speed
Signed and dated in pencil 'A Briscoe / 19' (lower right)
Watercolour
19½ x 13¾in. (49.5 x 34.5cm.)
£500-700
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A 12IN. GUN TAMPION FROM H.M.A.S. AUSTRALIA, CIRCA 1913
the 15in. tampion cast in brass with ship's motto ENDEAVOUR, now mounted on wooden display board - 16½in. (42cm.) overall
£1,500-2,500
H.M.A.S. Australia was one of three 'Indefatigable' class battlecruisers and the only capital ship to serve in the Royal Australian Navy. Ordered in 1909, she was launched in 1911, and commissioned as flagship of the fledgling Royal Australian Navy (R.A.N.) in 1913. On the outbreak of War, she was ordered to neutralise the German East Asia Squadron (forcing its withdrawal from the Pacific) but several distractions meant the job was done without her support. Assigned to the Grand Fleet thereafter, she was involved in early naval aviation experiments, and eleven of her crew participated in the Zeebrugge Raid of April 1918. On her return to Australia in 1919, several sailors mutinied after being denied an extra day's leave. Placed in reserve, she was broken up in 1924 to comply with the Treaty of Washington.
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AN ARMCHAIR MADE FROM THE WOOD OF H.M.S. VINDICTIVE, 1918
the back carved with naval crown and inscribed as per title - 40½ x 25½in. (103 x 64.7cm.)
£150-250
Provenance: Southampton Master Mariners Association
An 'Arrogant' class cruiser built at Chatham in 1897, she was obsolete by the start of hostilities in 1914 but in fact proved her worth with noble service in the Zeebrugge Raid of April 1918. With most of her guns replaced with howitzers, flame-throwers and mortars and under heavy fire, she managed to lay alongside the mole and embark Marine gunners and a large raiding party. Her upperworks were heavily damaged and her captain, Alfred Carpenter, was awarded the Victoria Cross. Sunk as a blockship during the second Ostend Raid on May 10th that year, she was raised in 1920 and her bow section is preserved in Ostend harbour as a memorial to the twenty-eight men lost in the raid.
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A SOUVENIR DINNER GONG CARVED FROM WOOD AND BRASS SHELL CASES RECOVERED FROM H.M.S. BACCHANTE, GALLIPOLI, 1915
of shield form with ship's badge and naval crown inscribed to front 'C.J.B. Gallipoli 1915', with hooks supporting three brass shell casings and leather bound striker, assembled dimensions - 33 x 19in. (84 x 48cm.)
£400-600
Bacchante was a 12,000 ton 'Cressy' class cruiser of 1901. Obsolete by the Great War, she was sent, along with several other pre-Dreadnoughts, to support the Gallipoli landings at Anzac Cove on the 25th April 1915. Armed with 2-9.2in. breach loaders and 12-6in guns (along with 12-quick firing guns and 2-18in. submerged torpedoe tubes) she suppressed the Turkish guns by actually touching her bow to the beach to get a better position. She remained for several months and was particularly effective during the Third Attack on Anzac Cove on 19th May where she and three other pre-Dreadnoughts again suppressed Turkish artillery with good effect. Her commander, Algernon Boyle, latterly supervised the evacuation of Anzac Cove, but Bacchante was not present having been sent to the Mediterranean, and then as flagship to Sierra Leone for the last year of the War. Paid off, she was broken up in 1920.
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A BELL MADE FROM METAL OF H.M.S. TIGER (1914), CIRCA 1932
the 6in. bell mounted on stand with horseshoe base - 18in. (46cm.) high
£200-400
Please see illustration on page 71
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A BELL FROM THE IMPERIAL GERMAN SUBMARINE U.B.44, 1916
cast in brass with impressed lettering inscribed U.B. 44, the inside inscribed in raised lettering 15 C, complete with clapper, now mounted on wood stand, the bell - 6 x 6in. (15 x 15cm.); stand 15in. (38cm.) high
£2,000-3,000
One of a class of six, UB-44 was built by AG Wesser, Bremen, shipped in sections to Pola and assembled (with her sisters) by Wesser engineers, being launched in April 1916. She measured 121 feet with a 14ft 4in. beam, and her Daimler diesels provided a range of 6,840 miles at nearly 9 knots on the surface and 4 knots submerged with a range of 45 miles on batteries. She was armed with two 19.7in. bow torpedo tubes and could carry four torpedoes. Additionally, she was also armed with a single 3.5in. deck gun. She was commissioned on 11 May 1916 and ordered to the Austro-Hungarian base at Cattaro, near the Mediterranean. On 30th June she torpedoed and sank the S.S. Moeris on passage between Glasgow and Alexandria with the loss of three men and her only 'kill'; Her fate is unknown, but anecdotal evidence suggests she may have been sunk with a lance bomb off Paxoi in early August. How her bell survived is unclear, however her unusual construction and early demise suggests that it had yet to be fitted.
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AN HISTORICALLY INTERESTING MAKER'S PLATE REMOVED FROM ONE OF THE GUNS FROM KAISER WILHELM II WHEN REMOVED TO LIBAU, RUSSIA, 29TH DECEMBER 1918
inscribed for Krupp of Essen and with brass plate inscribed with naval punches TAKEN OFF NO.4-10 IN GUNS OF S.M.S. KAISER WILHELM II WHICH HAD BEEN PLACED IN A FORT AT LIBAU. RUSSIA 29-12-18, now riveted in oak display board with singed edges and inscribed in ink to reverse Given by Sgt #21366 A.H. Hand, R.F.C. France 1917 - 10¼ x 5¾in. (26 x 14.5cm.)
£300-500
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