So my dad has this silver champagne cooler which is about half a meter tall. According to the inscription the cooler was a gift from the British crown to my great-uncle in gratitude for his care for solders and sailors during the First World War.
He was a doctor on the Dutch island of Texel during that time, the soldiers and sailors were casualties of this battle.
The inscription reads:
"Presented to: Dr. A. Van Der Horst by the British Admiralty in recognition of his devoted and skilful attention to Naval Officers and Men saved from the British Cruisers "Aboukir" "Cressy" & "Hogue"
1914"
Near the top there are four small markings, which we can't make out.
Thing is, we simple don't know much more about the thing.
My grandmother was Jewish, and so was her uncle to whom this cooler was given to. My grandmother and her cousin were the only ones in the family to survive WW2 and somehow they managed to keep it hidden.
My family and I would like to know more about this gift and great-uncle. Was it common for the British navy and crown to give foreigners? Are there records of the people who were given these kinds of gifts?
The four small marks are the Hallmarks. From left to right in your image they show: The maker (I can't make out the upper right lobe so haven't been able to identify them), the quality (Sterling silver), the city (London) and the date letter (1902).
If you polish/clean it up a bit with a soft cloth or silver polish you should be able to identify the maker see the lion and leopard's head clearly.
As to finding out more, I'd recommend contacting an archivist/historian at the Royal Navy.
EDIT: I think that the maker may have been Holland, Aldwinckle & Slater (If there is an '&' in the centre and the top right lobe contains a capitalised 'A').
EDIT 2: Clarity, punctuation etc.