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I doubt if this cake stand made it to South Africa, but the unit it was produced for certainly did!!
The 2nd Volunteer battalion of The Border Regiment had companies in small towns such as Appleby, Kendal, Kirkby Lonsdale, and Sedbergh (see www.angloboerwar.com/forum/6-places/7525...nt-volunteer-company ) in the South Lakeland and Eden areas of what is now Cumbria.
I have an interest in medals & insignia etc., but I rather like “quirky” regimental items such as this piece of mess china which must be a rare survivor? (Plus items like this are far, far cheaper than badges etc!)
The 1st, 2nd, & 3rd volunteer battalions became 4th & 5th Bn. Territorials in 1908 – see extract from The London Gazette. I’ve also attached a photo of 2nd Btn. Volunteers at Kirkby Lonsdale c. 1905 at their armoury on “Jingling Lane “ with Capt F.Pearson ( a solicitor) Lt B.Rigg, Lt.B.Williams, and Sgt. William Spooner.
Regards Paul

Paul,

It is good to see such delicate items have survived the years and in such great shape too. The bowl looks to be of a fair size?

Do you find these items readily available, relatively speaking of course!

Your pictures are excellent too. Many thanks for posting these.

Best wishes
David

Hi, The plate is about 12 inches across and the stand is about ten inches high. There is a very old repair to the rim where a small piece has been broken off and re attached ( so they obviously considered it to be an item worth going to the expense of having restored!). Living in Cumbria, England, there are a reasonable amount of Border Regiment items which appear now and then in curio shops, antique fairs etc, but they tend to be of the "trench art" type such as vesta cases, boxes, and picture frames etc with badges and insignia incorporated.
I have never seen any pottery items before (I found this one on e-bay,and as there was only one other bidder I bought it for just £11.00 !) but silverware does sometimes appear in the form of trophies, plaques etc. However I suspect that many of these have been lost recently as they have been melted down in the last couple of years due to the high silver scrap prices and their owners not appreciating any historical significance.
Thanks for the comment about my pictures. I was a press photographer for 26 years, but it's a young man's game and all those years of hauling round heavy equipment in all weathers in sometimes "dodgy" situations took it's toll! Most of my photos are now taken on a little Nikon compact digital camera about a centimetre thick and not much bigger than a credit card! Unfortunately these amazing digital jobs and mobile phone cameras are putting photograpers out of work (as people settle for lower quality images and the horrific contrasty digital images with garish colours) but modern technology has not yet developed a snapshot camera which has an eye for a picture or a sense of composition!
Best Wishes, Paul.