Merchant Navy tie pin : V G Fletcher

Gilt and enamel Merchant Navy tie pin. The pin is a horizontal brass rod with a pin clasp on the rear. Attached to the front of the rod is the badge of the Merchant Navy, an oval shaped gilded loop of rope, knotted at the bottom, and containing the letters 'M' and 'N' in gilt on a blue enamel background. The loop is surmounted by a gilded naval crown with a red enamel band.

Tie pin worn by Australian merchant seaman Valwyn Gordon Fletcher, who sailed on British, Norwegian, Swedish, Belgian, Panamanian and Danish vessels during the Second World War. Mr Fletcher's ships included the 'Lidvard' and the 'Kookaburra', but he was primarily associated with the 7000 ton Norwegian steamer 'Tai Yang'. After the war he settled in the United States. His father George Fletcher served in the Australian Army during both the First and Second World Wars.