Jason Clarke Antiques has dated this piece to the 1910s.
R.E. Treweeks. R.N. By the Captain and W.R. Officers. HMS Natal. 3rd Feb 1914”.
The maroon velvet three sectioned interior contains three cut glass decanters with long stemmed stoppers, all in unused condition, superior brass hinges and ivorine maker’s plate which has sadly been polished out over the years.
In itself, this quality decanter set is a joy to behold but its dedication hides a rather interesting historical story from the First World War period. Lieutenant Richard Edward Lewis Treweeks the recipient of this beautiful and generous gift was born in Pembroke in 1883 and following an early career in the merchant navy, also joined the Royal Navy Reserve as a Sub-Lieutenant in 1911. Promoted to full Lieutenant in April of 1913, he seems to have joined the Royal Navy in a full time position and was stationed on HMS Natal by September of 1913.
Treweeks must have already been making preparations for his marriage to his wife Dorothy at this stage and it is for this occasion that the ship’s officers presented the decanter set to him on the 3rd of February 1914. This generous gift a clear sign that although new to the ship’s crew, he must have been well liked already by his Captain and fellow officers already. Sadly, only twenty two months later, Treweeks and many of those officers were to lose their lives in the explosion and subsequent sinking of the HMS Natal at Cromarty Firth in Scotland.
HMS Natal
The ship on which Treweeks was to meet his fateful end, was a modern, Warrior Class Armoured Cruiser for the period. Built by Vickers, Sons & Maxim at Barrow-in Furness, she was completed in 1907. Christened by the Duchess of Devonshire, HMS Natal’s name was chosen as she was largely funded by the inhabitants of The Colony of Natal.
After seeing service with both the fifth and later the second Cruiser Squadron, Natal was chosen to provide escort to The Royal Yacht whilst transporting King George V to attend the Delhi Durbar in India in 1911 – 12 and later had the less joyful duty of escorting the body of US Ambassador to Great Britain, Whitelaw Reid back to New York for burial. There are somewhat conflicting reports about this journey but it seems it was an extremely difficult crossing due to the prevailing weather conditions and repairs were required at their destination. Only six months later, Natal was also involved in a collision with a fishing vessel whilst sailing through foggy conditions.
Treweeks joined the HMS Natal three months after the above mentioned collision and saw continuous service on the vessel thereafter. The ship joined the Grand Fleet upon the outbreak of the First World War and was refitted at Cromarty in January of 1915. Stationed on patrol in The North Sea, the ship had seen little action before December when it joined the Second Cruiser Squadron at Scapa Flow and was soon sailing for Cromarty for a spell of rest over the Christmas period and to undertake some firing practice.
The Christmas period seems to have been dogged by bad weather but on 29th of December Captain Back of the Natal made preparations for inviting some notable local civilians aboard to spend the afternoon watching a film and invited those officers who had wives present in the area to join him. Some inter-ship football matches were also happening ashore which meant that a number of the crew were not going to be present on-board the next day.
At 1:30 the following day, the guests were welcomed aboard the ship and given the first-hand accounts of the day, there was nothing to suggest what was to come ne
Jason Clarke Antiques has dated this piece to the 1910s.
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Pollard Oak Triple Decanter Case Presented to Lieut Re Treweeks Royal Navy of Hms Natal
