The Family Collection of the late Countess Mountbatten of Burma
The Family Collection of the late Countess Mountbatten of Burma
A novelty silver table cigar lighter in the form of a grenade, Deakin & Francis Ltd., Birmingham, 1917
Auction Closed
March 24, 08:41 PM GMT
Estimate
200 - 300 GBP
Lot Details
Description
A novelty silver table cigar lighter in the form of a grenade
Deakin & Francis Ltd., Birmingham
1917
realistically modelled as a No.5 Mills Grenade, detachable hand lever and pin with ring handle, loaded base with engraved match striker rim, retailed by Wilson & Gill, London
9.5cm. high
William Mills was asked by the War Department to improve the mechanism and means of manufacture of the hand grenade. He redesigned the grenade and created the distinctive pineapple appearance which increased the grip for the thrower and the case fragmentation on detonation. By 1916, the Mills No.5 hand grenade was in wide scale production and during the course of World War I some 75 million grenades were manufactured. Mills was knighted for his services in 1922.