Height overall: 17cm (6.75in)
Silver. Standing figure of a parachutist with X Type chute and Mk 5 Sten mounted on an ebonised base, applied with a presentation plaque inscribed ‘From the Officers / Headquarters / 16th Independent / Parachute Brigade Group / 1956-57. Maker’s mark of Garrard & Co.,112 Regent Street, London. Figure height: 11.5cm (4.5in). Hallmarked London 1957.
16th Independent Parachute Brigade Group was the result of the reduction of the Second World War British airborne forces from two divisions to a brigade sized formation. The number 16 derived from the ‘1’ taken from 1st Airborne Division of Arnhem fame and the ‘6’ of 6th Airborne Division that secured the left flank invasion area during the Normandy landings.