Overall height: 24cm (9.5in)
Provenance: Brigadier J.W. Kaye, RA, late Somaliland Camel Corps
Silver. Of rectangular form with engine turned decoration, the hinged lid applied with the crowned ‘H’ cypher of Prince Henry encircled by the Garter and motto ‘Honi Soit Qui Mal Y Pense’ (Shame on him who thinks ill of it). Gilt interior. Maker’s mark of Royal warrant holder Henry Hodson Plante, Bury Street, St James’s, London. Hallmarked Birmingham. Contained in its original gilt tooled red morocco presentation case of Plante, St James’s.
Read more
The present cigarette case was presented to Major J.W. Kaye while on secondment to the King’s African Rifles and serving as the officer commanding the Somaliland Camel Corps at Burao in 1930. Prince Henry, on his way home from coronation of Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia, was treated to a guard of honour, tea in Kaye’s bungalow, evening stables with the camels and dinner in the mess. Next day the Camel Corps turned out for the Prince to perform a mock battle in which they were attacked by 200 ‘scallywags’ led by the blacked-up Scottish medical officer. The spectacle concluded with the RAF blowing up a specially built fort. After lunch in the mess, prisoners were brought forth from the local gaol, and, in the presence of Prince Henry, had their chains knocked off to mark the royal visit.
Brigadier Kaye (1899-1990) was educated at Bedford School and the RMA Woolwich. He was commissioned into the Royal Artillery in September 1918 and saw action on the Western Front. In 1936 he went to India as a mountain gunner and was later attached to the Gwalior State Forces. In March 1942 he took command of 28th Mountain Regiment during the Retreat from Burma. The regiment’s two batteries had lost all their guns in the Battle of Sittang Bridge, but later partially re-equipped fought as gunners and infantry against the Japanese invaders. Kaye was mentioned in despatches in recognition of gallant and distinguished services in Burma, gazetted 19 July 1945.
The Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester (1900-1974) was the third son of George V and Queen Mary, and thus was uncle to Elizabeth II. He was born at York Cottage, on the Sandringham Estate. His godparents included Queen Victoria, the Kaiser and Lord Roberts. Educated at Eton and Sandhurst, he was commissioned into the King's Royal Rifle Corps, and served afterwards with the 10th Royal Hussars. In 1928, his father created him Duke of Gloucester, Earl of Ulster, and Baron Culloden, three titles that linked him with three parts of the United Kingdom. On 2 November 1930 he attended the coronation of Hailie Selassie of Ethiopia in Addis Ababa. In 1934, with the agreement of the Irish President, Eamon de Valera, George V made him a Knight of St Patrick, Ireland's chivalric order. It was the second to last time this order was awarded. At the time of his death in 1974 the Duke of Gloucester was the only remaining knight. During the Second World War he served as a Chief Liaison Officer, and between 1945-47 he was Governor-General of Australia. He was appointed a Field Marshal in 1955 and a Marshal of the Royal Air Force in 1958. On 6 November 1935, Henry married Lady Alice Montagu-Douglas-Scott, a daughter of the Duke of Buccleuch.