Rare World War 1 Sterling Silver Commemorative Napkin Ring For Lieutenant Noel Henry Cragg With All Postings Mentioned In Despatches
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A Rare World War 1 Heavy Sterling Silver Commemorative Napkin Ring For A Lieutenant Noel Henry Cragg. It Is Engraved With His name, Rank, Date Of Death, And Full Naval Service Record. He Was Mentioned In Sir John French’s Despatches For “Gallant And Distinguished Conduct In The Field”.
This piece essentially traces his entire naval career from cadetship to his death in action, functioning as a miniature service memorial. Items like this were sometimes commissioned by families as personal mementos of a fallen relative, especially when there was no grave nearby to visit. It’s rare to find such a piece that records not only the death but also a chronological list of all the ships and postings.
Lieutenant Noel Henry Cragg (17 December 1892 – 20 September 1915) was a Royal Navy officer from Threekingham, Lincolnshire. The son of Captain William A. Cragg, J.P., of Threekingham House, he was one of four brothers serving during the First World War.
Cragg first served on HMS King Edward VII, where in 1914 he was commended by Admiral Sir Lewis Bayley and thanked by the Admiralty for saving life at sea. He later transferred to the destroyer HMS Hind, taking part in the Battle of Heligoland Bight and the Cuxhaven Raid, two of the Royal Navy’s earliest wartime actions. His conduct earned him a mention in Sir John French’s despatches.
In 1915 he was attached to the Naval Siege Guns at Nieuport, Belgium. While commanding a naval gun behind French trenches, he was killed by shellfire on 20 September 1915, aged just 22. He was buried at Malo-les-Bains Communal Cemetery near Dunkirk.
News of his death was marked locally in the Grantham Journal, which remembered him as both a gallant officer and a keen sportsman with Billingborough Cricket Club. Nationally, the Privy Purse at Buckingham Palace wrote to his father expressing the King’s appreciation of the Cragg family’s service and sacrifice.
Although no personal portrait of him has been traced, his name and memory are preserved on a brass plaque at St Peter’s Church, Threekingham, alongside that of his brother, Lieutenant John Francis Cragg. See last photograph.
Condition is good, commensurate with age and use. Structurally sound. Nice clear engravings and hallmark.
Measures 4.5cm diameter x 3.5cm
Weighs 62.96 grams