PAIR OF RAF BATTLE OF BRITAIN ROLLS-ROYCE MERLIN ENGINE PISTON ASHTRAYS

A highly evocative pair of post-war RAF commemorative ashtrays, each fashioned from an original Rolls-Royce Merlin engine piston. Produced shortly after the Second World War, these ashtrays were made using surplus Merlin engine pistons and sold in aid of the RAF Benevolent Fund. The Merlin engine became one of the most important British aero engines of the war, powering aircraft including the Supermarine Spitfire and Hawker Hurricane during the Battle of Britain. Each ashtray retains the original piston form and is engraved to the centre with the RAF crest beneath a crown and the wording: ROYAL AIR FORCE Around the inner rim is Winston Churchill’s famous tribute: “NEVER IN THE FIELD OF HUMAN CONFLICT WAS SO MUCH OWED BY SO MANY TO SO FEW” Each is further engraved: “MADE FROM A ROLLS ROYCE ‘MERLIN’ ENGINE PISTON AS USED IN THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN – AUGUST–OCTOBER 1940.” The undersides are stamped: MADE IN ENGLAND An especially appealing feature here is the survival of two examples together, making them particularly suitable for a Battle of Britain, RAF, aviation or Second World War collection. These pieces are sometimes loosely described as “Spitfire ashtrays”, although the more accurate description is Merlin engine piston ashtray, as the Rolls-Royce Merlin powered a number of RAF aircraft types