A rare sterling silver sweetheart brooch or badge from H.M.S Tiger.

Fully hallmarked from Birmingham in 1915 with the makers mark being that of Payton, Pepper & Sons Ltd.

Superbly detailed engraved frontage.

In very nice order and measures 24mm across.

HMS Tiger was a battlecruiser launched in 1913 and commissioned just as WWI began in October 1914. She was widely considered beautiful and imposing warship in the Royal Navy at the time, but she was built for speed and immense firepower rather than heavy protection.

Because of her speed, she was assigned to the elite 1st Battlecruiser Squadron and fought in the three major North Sea naval engagements of the war.

Battle of Dogger Bank (1915): Tiger took part in pursuing German battlecruisers. She was hit by six enemy shells, killing 10 of her crew, but survived to fight on.

Battle of Jutland (1916): This was the largest naval battle of WWI. While several other British battlecruisers dramatically exploded and sank during the battle, Tiger famously survived. She was hit 15 times by heavy-caliber German shells, suffered 24 fatalities, and took on a large amount of water, but her damage control teams successfully kept her fighting.

The Second Battle of Heligoland Bight (1917): She provided heavy fire support during operations in the North Sea.

An official 1915 Birmingham silver hallmark means this piece was crafted precisely when HMS Tiger was patrolling the North Sea during the peak of World War I.

Because it was hallmarked in 1915, this brooch/badge was likely commissioned or purchased around the time HMS Tiger fought in the Battle of Dogger Bank (January 1915). The sailor who bought this would have sent it back home to a loved one while the ship was stationed at the heavy fleet base in Rosyth, Scotland, preparing for further North Sea actions.