Boxed Set of Six Commemorative Napkin Rings Made from the Timbers of Victory, Queen Elizabeth, Iron Duke, Valiant and Warspite

A boxed set of six commemorative napkin rings made from the timbers of, Victory, Queen Elizabeth, Iron Duke, Valiant and Warspite Each ring is turned and applied with a brass label and some have paper stock numbers from Harrods stuck on the interior. Two are inscribed ‘From the teak of HMS Queen Elizabeth Dardanelles 1915 Earl Beatty’s Flagship Grand Fleet 1917’, and one each ‘From the bowsprit of Nelson’s Victory 1805’, ‘From the Teak of HMS Iron Duke, Admiral Jellicoe’s flagship, Jutland 1916’ and one each ‘From the Teak of HMS Valiant Jutland 1916’ and ‘From the Teak of HMS Warspite’. Presented wrapped in purple tissue and fitted into a cardboard box printed with ‘The Fleet’ in red above a black battleship and the hand written inscription ‘Many happy returns of the day Miggsi darling.’ English, as dated. Provenance: Colonel Tom to Miggsi Lawson, London, Ontario, Canada. Yes, they were the parents of a very good friend of mine, Tim Lawson, who passed away recently. Colonel Tom Lawson was the son of Ray Lawson a former Lieutenant Governor of Ontario. I believe they were a present given to them on their 50th wedding anniversary in the early 1970s HMS Victory is a 104-gun first-rate ship of the line and Admiral Lord Nelson’s flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar, 1805. She was also Keppel’s flagship at Ushant, Howe’s flagship at Cape Spartel and Jervis’s flagship at Cape St Vincent. One hundred years ago, she was moved to a dry dock at Portsmouth and has been the flagship of the First Sea Lord since October 2012, making her the world’s oldest naval ship still in commission, with 244 years’ service as of 2022. HMS Queen Elizabeth was the first of five super- dreadnoughts built for the Royal Navy during the 1910s. These battleships were superior in firepower, protection and speed to their Royal Navy predecessors of the Iron Duke class. HMS Iron Duke served as Lord Jellicoe’s flagship for the Grand Fleet in World War I, including at the Battle of Jutland in 1916. There, she inflicted significant damage on the German battleship SMS König in the main fleet action. HMS Valiant was another Queen Elizabeth-class battleship built for the Royal Navy during the early 1910s. She was part of the Grand Fleet in World War I and participated in the Battle of Jutland. HMS Warspite was also a Queen Elizabeth-class ship who served at the Battle of Jutland and continued to do so into World War II including in the Norwegian Campaign (1940), the Battle of Crete (1941), with the Eastern Fleet in the Indian Ocean (1942) and at the Normandy Landings. These actions earned her the most battle honours ever awarded to an individual ship in the Royal Navy.