William Edwin Stanier was a silversmith working for Elkingtons. And according to his son John, he ...
was mobilised into the Territorial Army in 1914. At some stage during the war, (he) volunteered to transfer to Pembroke Docks, South Wales, making or repairing copper piping in submarines, but actually spending most of the time turning mussel shells into snuff boxes for the naval staff.
One such box, shown above, was passed on to me by my father.
The box above was auctioned on eBay in 2004, with the text A very fine quality mussel shell snuff box made in the style of John Stanier. John Stanier was employed as a Silversmith by Elkington and during the first world war he worked at Pembroke Docks. In his spare time he used his talents to make fine quality snuff boxes from mussel shells. This item is in fine condition with beautifully crafted hinge and case. The case is made from what I believe to be (German Silver), which today we call nickel. The pieces are similar, although far from identical, and the biographical details of "John Stanier" seem to be those of William. The attribution of the piece to John Stanier is therefore curious.
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