Original Items: Only One Available. This is a great example of the eventual fate of many o the early wooden propellers used on Aircraft during WWI. This is a very attractive British WWI Naval Air Service souvenir keepsake box, made from a hollowed-out section of propeller from near the hub. The laminated wood layers on the sides can still be seen on the sides, as well as from the inside. The top of the box has a painted Royal Naval Air Service R N A S emblem, which has a great look.
The box measures approximately 7 1/2″L x 4 1/2″W x 3 3/4″H, with an interior depth of about 2 5/8″. The bottom and top also look to be made from propeller wood, as they have oblique angled lamination joints. The bottom section is attached directly into the propeller, and has brown felt glued on to protect the desk it sat on. The top has been carved to sit securely on the top of the box.
Inside the box is a very nice WWI Medal bar of the type that is sewn onto a tunic. It has the ribbons for the standard three awards given to any British Service member who served throughout the war: The 1914-1915 Star, the British War Medal (General Service), and the WWI Victory Medal. It is still attached to its original cardboard backing, which has descriptions of the three awards on the back.
A great and interesting Royal Naval Air Service keepsake box from WWI, complete with a British WWII Victory Ribbon Bar, ready to sit on your desk and display!
The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the air arm of the Royal Navy, under the direction of the Admiralty’s Air Department, and existed formally from 1 July 1914 to 1 April 1918, when it was merged with the British Army’s Royal Flying Corps to form the Royal Air Force, the world’s first independent air force.