A Military Presentation 9ct gold vesta and cigarette case - 5th Battalion Yorkshire Regiment
£1,563
Auction: 9 March 2022 at 10:00 GMT
Description
Sampson Mordan & Co Ltd, Chester 1909, the cigarette case of rounded square outline, the vesta case of circular outline, each engraved with monogram and banner of the regiment 1907-1910 to one side and crest and motto engraved above italic initials ELPE
Dimensions
Length: 8cm, weight: 89g
Footnote
Eric Lea Priestly Edwards (1877-1914)
Killed in action at the beginning of the First World War at the First Battle Aisne in 1914, Edwards was a professional military serviceman and dedicated his life to the army. His military service defined his character, and it is fitting that he was presented with such a rewarding gift.
Educated at Harrow and The Royal Military College, Sandhurst, Edwards then joined the East Yorkshire Regiment and remained there throughout his career. The Yorkshire Regiment also known as Alexandra Princess of Wales’s own regiment, was formed in 1875. During the Army reforms of 1881, the regiment’s title changed to The Princess of Wales's Own and following Alexandra’s coronation as Queen Consort to King Edward VII in 1902, its title changed again, becoming Alexandra, Princess of Wales's Own (Yorkshire Regiment).
A celebrated Regiment, in total the East Yorkshire Regiment was awarded 1,125 British medals and 94 foreign awards and received 397 mentions in dispatches during the First World War; the presentation of this cigarette case is a reference to his contribution to his regiments successes; and his medal card, held within the National Archive at Kew, reveals his short but notable career
Early on in his career Edwards served as Captain and it would appear that he was an Officer with various battalions, in August 21st 1908 he is mentioned in the London Gazette ‘5th Battalion, Yorkshire Regiment; Captain Eric Lea Priestley Edwards, The East Yorkshire Regiment, from the Adjutancy of the 2nd Volunteer Battalion, The East Yorkshire Regiment, to be Adjutant for the residue unexpired of his tenure. Dated 1st April 1908.’
Prior to this he served on the Indian Frontier between 1897 and 1898 during the Tirah expedition, attempting to control the Khyber Pass and manage the rebelling tribes of the region with the First Battalion.
At the beginning of the First World War Edwards joined the British Expeditionary Force. At the time, it was assumed that any future conflict with Germany would be at sea and that Britain’s part in defeating Germany would be through a naval blockade. Before the First World War Britain’s regular Army was just under 250,000 men and most of them were scattered around the Empire. Consequently, the BEF combined battalions to form what was thought was a contingency only needed for a six-month war. The Battle of Aisne lasted only two nights, the 13th to the 15th September, and Edwards lost his life only five weeks into the war.
The vesta and cigarette case are engraved 1907-1910, presumably for the contribution made to the battalion. Remembered by this presentation gift, he is also remembered on the Le Fert-sou-Jouarre Memorial outside of Paris.