7.5cm (3in) x 24cm (9.5in) x 11.5cm (4.7in)
Silver officer’s shoulder belt pouch flap applied with the Queen Victoria cypher and the Enniskillen Caslte badge of the 6th Inniskilling Dragoon under the Queen’s crown in gilt, adapted to form part of the hinged lid of a cedar lined table top table cigarette box. The lower section of the box with engine turned decoration and presentation inscription ‘From H.P. to J.F. S. / 31st March 1938’. Maker’s mark of Saunders & Mackenzie. Hallmarked 1936.
Originally worn by cavalrymen as containers for carbine rifle ammunition, shoulder belt pouches assumed purely decorative usage in the mid 19th century. Late in the century the tradition of recycling the silver elements of an officer’s uniform for domestic use was developed with a number of prestigious silversmithing firms carrying out the bespoke work to order.