My late father served in the South African Navy during WW2.
He Commanded the vessel HMS Teviot when it was seconded to the South African Navy.
When the vessel was return to the Royal Navy my father removed (or, to put not too fine a point on it, probably nicked) a hand carved wooden plaque that bears the following inscription under a crest bearing a crown surrounded with what appears to be a leather belt and the words carved into the belt
"The Rural District Council of Martley" :
"This Plaque was presented to HMS Teviot to commemorate the ship's adoption by the Rural District of Martley Worcestershire Warship Week March 1942"
The plaque was mounted in the officers ward room. My father believed that the vessel was being returned to be broken up for scrap post WW2. Of all the ships he served in as commanding officer, he had a deep love for the Teviot, and removed the plaque lest he ever forget her.
Anyway I now have the plaque on display in my home in Westville, Durban, South Africa, where it is admired as a curiosity.
I would be interested to know what the council's records show with regard to origin of the association between the district and the Teviot.
There are unlikely to be anyone still alive who remembers, but -
Is there any record of the handover?
Has anyone ever tried to establish the whereabouts of the plaque?
Was there a ceremony to hand over the plaque?
Who attended?
Who made the presentation?
Who received it?
Is there a record of the speech delivered at the ceremony?
Who carved the plaque's inscription?
What wood did he use?
if you have no answers, is there an archive where the council's records are available on line, for me to search?
Although not a history buff, this does represent a quirky aspect of some history, and unless I make the effort to preserve the memory it is unlikely that my children will ever do so. I would hate to think that a beautiful labour of love gets dumped as rubbish by generations to come because noone ever made the effort to place its existence into a meaningful context which can be passed on to future generations.
yours sincerely
Andrew Martin
If you wish to reply to me please use me please use my business email address andrewm@nsg.co.za