'Offizierheim Münster' Wine Coaster

The engraving on the top face of the little dish in translation reads 'Officers Mess Münster'. We have purchased a pair of these silver plate trays and were told by the vendor they were brought back to the UK in 1945 by a returning British soldier as a war souvenir, being the ideal size to slip into a battledress pocket. Our online research indicates during World War II Münster was maintained as the headquarters (Hauptsitz) for the 6th Military District of the German Wehrmacht, under the command of Infantry General Gerhard Glokke. This headquarters controlled military operations in Münster, Essen, Düsseldorf, Wuppertal, Bielefeld, Coesfeld, Paderborn, Herford, Minden, Detmold, Lingen, Osnabrück, Recklinghausen, Gelsenkirchen, and Cologne. Münster was the home base for the VI and XXIII Infantry Corps, as well as the XXXIII and LVI Panzerkorps. Thanks to its military presence, Münster was much targeted by the RAF and about 91% of the old city and 63% of the entire city was destroyed during Allied air raids, but was largely rebuilt in the 1950's.

On offer is either a single tray or the pair depending on your needs and budget. Each tray measures 5" diameter (13 cm) with engraving to the centre confirming where it served and from where it was subsequently captured back in '45. The top surface of each shows some service wear to the silver plate but otherwise they remain in very crisp original condition. The reverse is marked NS WMS & 2; NS means Neusilber (Alpacca) which is an indication of a base metal for silver plating and believe 2 is the silver content. WMF is the abbreviation for Württembergische Metallwarenfabrik, which indicates the manufacturer as Württemberg Metal Factory, established in 1880 in the small town of Geislingen on the river and this company still remains in business. Whilst not dated these trays are quality items and we therefore believe them to be of pre-war manufacture and are likely to date from the 1930's.

The price indicated is for a single tray. If you would like to purchase the pair and so keep them together, we can supply both at at £100 plus postage at actual. Now as we move towards Christmas this could be an ideal present for the military collector in your life, whilst also remaining a parctical and useable coaster