Crown Chelsea cup + Saucer, HMAS SYDNEY Cocos Battle Commemorative 1914

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A WWI commemorative cup and a saucer, the cup with ‘Our Word / Our Bond’ prints, the saucer with an image of HMAS Sydney & inscriptions referencing the first Australian Navy battle, Cocos Islands 1914.

Cup: inscribed ‘UNITED WE STAND’ with crossed flags of the Allies, reverse “OUR WORD/ OUR BOND” 1914  CANADA/INDIA/AUSTRALIA/AFRICA”  H.M.A.S. “Sydney” destroyed the “Emden” / at Keeling Cocos Island Nov. 9. 1914. Saucer: “One Fleet. One Throne // For Freedom and Honour.

Saucer marked “Radford’s / Crown China / England”

Cup marked “Morris Crown Chelsea China / England”

saucer 15cm

Condition: hairline inside cup, saucer good.

These commemoratives for ‘H.M.A.S. SYDNEY (I) relate to one of Australia’s iconic stories; a light cruiser built in 1912, it was a formidable piece of technology in WWI which became a legend when it destroyed the German cruiser Emden in what is remembered as ‘Australia’s first victory at sea’.
The Emden had been sulking around South-East Asia causing major problems for the Allies, in a short time sinking or capturing 25 allied steamers, a Russian cruiser and a French destroyer. A dozen Allied warships were tied up in the region searching for a German battleship; the Germans had added an extra funnel to the Emden, and were masquerading as an Allied ship! Their next target was the station in the Cocos Islands, housing the all-important cable that connected the Pacific – and Australia- to Europe. On the 9th November, 1914, the Sydney came across the Emden, and successfully pounded it into submission.

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