Hip flask with engraved silver lid attributed to Trooper Royal Charles Dennis, 7th ALH

« Prev Item Next Item »

c. 1915

Overview

Leather bound, glass and silver plated antique hip flask attributed to Australian Light Horseman, Royal Charles (Roy Chas.) Dennis.
The glass bottle has two pieces of black textured leather sewn together with creamy gold stitching extending up to a ridge in the glass, two thirds of the way to the top. Above this is plain glass which is topped by a silver-plated thread and screw top lid. The inside of the lid has a layer of cork for cushioning and preventing liquid leakage.
The silver-plated curved lid or cup fits over the bottle, meeting the ridge in the glass from the top side. It has fancy floral decoration. One side of the lid has been lightly engraved with '1915 Gallipoli' while the other side features deeper engraving which reads 'Tmpr R.C. Dennis 412'.
Both the cup and the bottle lid are made from Electro-Plated Britannia Metal (E.P.B.M.), which is stamped on the top of the cup. Britannia metal is an alloy of tin, antimony and copper.
There no maker's marks.

Historical information

Royal Charles Dennis was born in 1893 in Sydney, Australia. A stationer by occupation, he attested for the Australian Imperial Force in May 1915 and embarked from Sydney for the Middle East with B Squadron, 12th Light Horse Regiment on 13 June 1915 on board HMAT A29 Suevic.
Following disembarkation in Alexandria and a temporary stay at Camp Mena, Egypt, he served in Gallipoli with the 7th Light Horse Regiment from 29 August and was wounded in action on 7 September, remaining with his unit at Anzac.
On 1 December 1915, he was admitted to the 1st Australian Casualty Clearing Station on the peninsula, from which he was evacuated to Cairo and admitted to the Australian General Hospital. Following a period at convalescent camp at Alexandria, he returned to the 12th Light Horse Regiment on 22 February 1916 seeing further operations in Egypt, Sinai and Palestine.

Dennis was attached to the 4th Light Horse Brigade Signals Troop on 10 August 1917 and was present with the Brigade at the time of their celebrated charge to take Beersheba on 31 October 1917. On this occasion, late in the afternoon, they advanced over open ground in a pure cavalry charge, getting under the Ottoman guns and capturing the town. Over 700 Ottoman soldiers were captured and, more significantly for the Australians, the vital water wells were secured. In achieving this, the 4th Light Horse Brigade lost 35 men men killed and 39 wounded.

On 20 July 1919 Dennis embarked from Suez in the troopship S.S. Morvada bound for Australia and was discharged in Sydney on 28 October 1919. He died in 1982.

The portrait of Royal Charles Dennis was copied from Ancestry.

Given that the flask is made from electro-plated Britannia metal, it is in very good condition for its age, which may reflect a lack of use or great care taken to preserve it. While the engraving on one side looks to be professionally done, the actual rank written makes little sense. It should probably read Trpr (an abbreviation of Trooper), but looks more like Tmpr, which may reflect the engraver's lack of knowledge. The writing on the other side looks more like it has been scratched in, perhaps by the owner.
The flask was purchased with a leather clad wallet with metal hinge and edges.

Details

Registration number

cwa-org-119-RoW00721

Item type

Themes