S.S. GOTHIC – ERII’s Royal Tour 1953 – 1954 - Ships Wheel Shaped Aluminium Souvenir Ashtray

Here on offer is an impressive souvenir of S.S. GOTHIC, ERII’s Royal Tour 1953 – 1954, being a ships wheel shaped aluminium ashtray.

The ashtray has been made from polished aluminium, with eight handles fitted to the outer rim.
In the centre there is a circular enamel badge, that depicts a Royal ensign flag and the words:

Royal Tour
1953 – 1954
S.S. GOTHIC

There is some slight loss of enamel to the central badge, please see my photos.

The ashtray itself is in excellent condition with just a few staining marks to the finish.

The Royal Tour of ERII was her first tour of the Commonwealth since becoming Queen.

Before the tour began Sir Winston Churchill was moved to make a statement in the House of Commons: "It will be the first time that a British sovereign has circumnavigated the globe. Her Majesty’s ship, GOTHIC, is more spacious and travels faster than the Golden Hind, but it may well be that the journey which the Queen is about to make will be no less auspicious and the treasures which she brings back no less bright than when Drake first sailed an English ship around the world."

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh boarded the newly white painted vessel on 22nd November 1953, then the Gothic sailed via the Panama Canal to Suva and Tonga, then Auckland and Wellington. Over the following weeks she also visited Sydney, Hobart, Melbourne and other ports before arriving at Fremantle. The next leg of the journey was across the Indian Ocean to Cocos Island, Colombo and the Red Sea port of Aden, arriving there on 27th April 1954.

Her royal duties done, five heyday months over, the ship slipped quietly back into her cargo-passenger liner role.

This is a fine piece of Royal and British maritime memorabilia.

The ashtray has a diameter of 6” (15.3 cm) from handle to handle and a depth of 0.75” (2cm).

It weighs 360g.

Please see my pictures for the details of the condition, which complement this description.

Please see my TERMS OF BUSINESS regarding Deliver Charges and Insurance regarding additional insurance cover, should you require it, BEFORE the item is dispatched.

The responsibility lies with the customer to check with your Customs restrictions that this item can be imported into your country.

Many thanks for taking the time to look.

Code: 51542