An Edwardian 9 Karat Gold Two-Handled Cup, Horace Woodward & Co. Ltd., Birmingham, 1906

The inscription reads "Presented to Samuel & Kate Stretton by their children on the occasion of their Golden Wedding, April 28, 1907."

Samuel Stretton (1832-1921) was born in Leicester and received his medical training at St. Bartholomew's Hospital in London. Upon returning from the Crimean War in 1856, he took over a medical practice in Kidderminster. In 1857 Samuel married Kate Birch (1835-1912), whose father was a surgeon who also trained at St. Bartholomew's. They had fifteen children, five of whom emigrated to make new lives in New Zealand. They celebrated their golden wedding anniversary in 1907 at the Town Hall with nearly 500 people in attendance.