Souvenir felt naval pennant - Royal Australian Navy (RAN)

« Prev Item Next Item »

c. 1940

Overview

World War Two era triangular souvenir naval pennant in horizontal orientation made from a black felt base with printed white and red detailing.
The graphics and text on the pennant are screen-printed using oil-based paint or thick lacquer ink.
The wide end of the pennant would have had two fabric ties attached to the edge for hanging, but these are missing.
On the left is a traditional central anchor wrapped in rope (fouled anchor) surmounted by a red and white King's Crown, all enclosed within a white circular rope border.
To the right of this are the letters 'R • A • N •' tapering in size down toward the point.
The reverse is plain and there is no maker's tag.

Historical information

Felt naval pennants were highly popular wartime souvenirs throughout the British Commonwealth—most notably across New Zealand and Australia - during and post WWII.
They were frequently purchased by service members, merchant mariners, or civilians as patriotic keepsakes, homefront memorabilia, or gifts for family members to commemorate maritime service.
This example is a generic Royal Australian Navy pennant which doesn't feature the name of an individual ship or shore establishment. Due to the presence of the King's Crown, it is likely to be WWII era, or at least pre-1952, when Queen Elizabeth II became the reigning monarch.

Details

Registration number

cwa-org-119-RoW01114

Item type

Collectibles

Ephemera

Pennants

Souvenirs

Themes

Defence > Navy

Social History

Transport