8cm (3in) x 17.7cm (7in) x 6.5cm (2.6in)
Silver. Officer’s shoulder belt pouch flap applied with the crowned GVR cypher of George V, bearing maker’s mark of Joseph Jennens & Co, Birmingham and hallmarked 1911, adapted to form part of the hinged lid of a cedar lined table top table cigarette box. The lower silver section fitted with pouch belt slings, and bearing the maker’s mark of Pepper, Payton & Co, Birmingham and hallmarked 1940.
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.