TOPIC:

I recently found this pin that appears to be a shell fragment (a bit of brass driving ring?) with a scroll enscribed “Ladysmith”. Could this be an actual relic of the Siege of Ladysmith or is it more likely a case of a jeweller-made fantasy piece?

Halibag
There are a number of similar ABW examples featured previously on this site. Apparently, there was once a thriving trade in making such relics and - in the case of your example - unless the fragment of the shell's driving band has a family meaning, it may be regarded as just a curiosity.
That said, should I ever run across such an item in my travels, definite interest would be expressed on the spot!
Regards
IL.

Your brooch is made from the driving band of a shell fired by a British 12 or 15-pdr BL Mk I gun (with Mk II "sawtooth" rifling). To maximise supply, the fragment has been cut in two laterally, this being the lower half of the band (inverted). For more on these see: British 12 and 15-pdr Shells and their Driving Bands.

The group of napkin rings below has been made in the same way. Four are from a set (Talana, Gun Hill, Spion Kop & Tugela), and were clearly made as souvenirs for battlefield tourists, who began to arrive in Ladysmith as soon as the siege was lifted. The Tugela battlefields would have been littered with such fragments at the time. Indeed, pieces of driving band could still be found on Hart's Hill when I visited after a grass fire in 1978.




..

Thank you Linneyl and Neville_C for your replies. Great information!