Battle of Britain Pilot (War Hero) 9ct Gold 1939 Cigarette Case with Provenance

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Battle of Britain Pilot (War Hero) 9ct Gold 1939 Cigarette Case with Provenance:
$8431.09

An absolutely stunning, 9ctgold, fully hallmarked, rectangular card/cigarette case, engine turned, and made by the silversmiths Walker and Hall, Sheffield in 1939. The inside inscription reads \'presented to p/o (pilot officer) Norman Taylor D.F.M by hiscolleagues & workmates of the Standard Aero Engines 1941.This is a magnificent, unique item, museum quality, with a letter of provenance.
Please take time to look at all 12 photos with regards thisstunning item, to fully appreciatejust what this is !!
Provenance ....RAF Flight Lieutenant Norman Taylor DFC, DFM ...... \"One of the Few\"
Norman Taylor was born in Chellaston near Derby and his early years were spent in South Derbyshire. He attended schools in Melbourne, Ashby, and finished his education at Bablake College in Coventry.
He joined the Standard Motor Company in Coventry as an apprentice and then the RAF in January 1939 as the war clouds were forming over Europe. Following pilot training at Prestwick, he joined 601 \'City of London\' squadron nicknamed \"The Millionaires Squadron\" in early August 1940. This was based at Tangmere and as a Sergeant pilot he flew throughout the Battle of Britain scoring several kills over the Luftwaffe bomber and fighter force. He was shot down twice and awarded the caterpillar badge from the Irving Parachute Company. After the battle, he made further kills flying missions over France and Belgium. In 1941 he was presented with this gold card/cigarette case, by his former colleagues at Standard Motor Company, as a mark of respect to his contribution during the Battle of Britain.In 1941 he volunteered for the Merchant ship fighter unit based at Speke Liverpool. This unit operated catapult launched sea Hurricanes from specially converted merchant ships called Camships; these were deployed to counter long distance four engine Focke-Wolfe FW 200 Condor bombers that threatened Allied convoys. In November 1941 he catapulted from the Camship \'Empire Heath\' and shot down a Condor, after which he parachuted into the sea, where he was rescued by a British Corvette. After this incident he admitted, that he needed to learn to swim !!!!For this action he was made an officer and awarded a DFC (Distinguished Flying Cross) to join the DFM (Distinguished Flying Medal) he received during the Battle of Britain. This brought his tally of German planes shot down, to ten.
Norman Taylor then joined Rolls Royce Ltd at Derby as a test pilot, and instructed staff on the famous Merlin Engine. He flew many types of planes, on test for the company.
Next he joined 222 \'Natal\' squadron, who were flying twin engine Meteor jet fighters, and took part in the 1946 victory flypast over Buckingham palace.RAF Flight Lieutenant Norman Taylor DFC, DFM, died in 1948 at the age of 27 when the Harvard aircraft he was flying crashed near Wunsdorf in Germany. He is buried in a commonwealth war grave near Munster, honoured on the memorial to the Battle of Britain pilots, located on the embankment in London, and at the National Arboretum at Alrewas Staffordshire.
So you can now understand why, this is a real historic piece of World War II memorabilia !!
Prime Minister Winston Churchill\'s speech on the 20th August 1940 stated \"Never in the field of human conflict, was so much owed, by so many, to so few\" referring to the ongoing efforts of the Royal Air Force, who were at the time fighting the Battle of Britain.
Walker & Hall ....Primarily a Sheffield silversmiths, established in 1845 by George Walker, who secured the Royalty of electroplating for Sheffield. The business wasjoined by Henry Hall and became Walker & Hall in 1853. They had showrooms all across the UK, Melbourne, Adelaide and Cape Town. Walker & Hall became a limited liability company in 1920, before finally combining with Mappin & Webb and Elkington & Co to become British Silverware Ltd in 1963.
Dimensions as follows ....

Length:4 inches or 10.2 cm

Width: 3.25 inches or 8.3 cm

Depth: 0.3 inch or 1 cm

Weight: 129 grams or 4.5 ozs

This is as good as it gets with regards to card/cigarette cases,it\'s all original and undamaged. How manyof these have you seen ?An extremely rarefind indeed. I\'ve only got one, once it\'s gone .... it\'s gone.

You\'ll never findanother one, and if there\'s one thing I\'ve learned about antiques, when items are of quality and extremelyrare he who hesitates usually loses out,basically what you\'re purchasing here is a real piece of history.

This rare gold hallmarked cigarette/card case is sohighly collectable, and would add value to any collection. Astylish card/cigarette casethat has stunningdetailed decoration.A realmust for anyserious collector and areal piece of iconic World War II memorabilia, so very collectable, this is only going to appreciate in value !!

This would make an ideal gift. It could be used today for business cards or credit cards, just a reallycool item, ideal for impressing your friends with ...

The card/cigarette casewillbe sent out recorded, special delivery with insurance.

Please note, all my international postal charges are only estimates andwill be confirmed and altered upor down when I knowthe destination to where, items arebeing sent. please also note I only charge actual costs of postage and packaging with insurance, no more.

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