Lot 5035

Description

WWI Presentation teapot, in sterling silver (tot wt 430g), hallmarked for Sheffield 1919 by maker G & S Co Ltd (Goldsmiths & Silversmiths Co Ltd), side inscribed, 'Pte C.B.Bond/5th Australian Pioneers/With The Best Wishes Of/Sir Arthur Pearson/and St. Dunstans'. Very fine.

Sir Arthur Pearson was a British newspaper magnate. He started to lose his eyesight in about 1908 due to glaucoma and eventually went completely blind. In 1915 he founded The Blinded Soldiers and Sailors Care Committee, later renamed St Dunstans and now known as Blind Veterans UK. St Dunstans assisted soldiers blinded by gas attack or trauma during WWI.

Charles Rundle Bond (Note the second name of Rundle. There is no record of a C.B.Bond in 5 Aust Pioneers but there is a C.R.Bond, so it appears the engraved name on the teapot has an incorrect initial.), labourer, age 21, born at Mornington Junction, Vic; Enl.20Jul1915 at Melbourne, Vic; Emb.26Nov1915; trf to 5 Pioneer Bn 04Mar1916; WIA 17Apr1918, gassed, France; Trf to England for treatment 20Apr1918; rejoined 5 Pioneer Bn 17Sep1918; RTA 13Apr1919; Disch.25Jul1919.