Description
A pair of menu card holders in the form of a regimental badge with the number ‘3’ placed above capital letters ‘H C L’, behind which are two upward-pointing prongs (to support a menu card) and a hinged ring acting as a base and allowing the front section to be canted back for ease of reading.
Hallmarks:
On the face of the number ‘3’: Lion Passant (Sterling); lowercase Old English ‘v’ (1895-6); Anchor (Birmingham); ‘TBW’ in a rectangular punch for Thomas B. Wilkins, Ltd.
Dimensions & Weight:
Height: 3.4 cm / 1 5/16 ins. Depth: 4.2 cm / 1 5/8 in. Width: 4.8 cm / 1 7/8 ins. Weight (2): 29 gms / 0.9 ozT.
3rd Lancers, Hyderabad Contingent
Originally raised in 1790 as Asif Sah’s Irregular Cavalry under the Colours of the Nizam of Hyderabad in Berar, the regiment held several identities during the nineteenth century, existing as the: Nizam’s Contingent (1801); 3rd Reformed Horse (1816); 3rd Regiment, Nizam’s Cavalry (1826); 3rd Cavalry, Hyderabad Contingent (1854); before finally becoming the 3rd Lancers, Hyderabad Contingent in 1890. The regiment was disbanded in 1903.
One picture shows an Officer (Risaldar-Major) of the 3rd Lancers in Full Dress uniform, 1897 (from a sketch made at Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee).
T. B. Wilkins Ltd
Thomas Bent Wilkins (b. 8 Dec 1825; d. 4 Sep 1918) was a military ornament manufacturer in Birmingham. His first mark was registered in November 1859 and he was still working in 1905.
