Skip to main content
Advanced Search
From the VICTORY to the QUEEN ELIZABETH for the ships may change but the spirit remains
From the VICTORY to the QUEEN ELIZABETH for the ships may change but the spirit remains

From the VICTORY to the QUEEN ELIZABETH for the ships may change but the spirit remains

Datec 1920
Object number00031791
NameTea towel
MediumCotton, ink
DimensionsOverall: 470 x 630 mm, 0.035 kg
ClassificationsTools and equipment
Credit LineANMM Collection Purchased with USA Bicentennial Gift funds
DescriptionThis commemorative World War I tea towel depicts the Royal Navy's battleship HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH. It also features images of Admiral Lord Nelson, his flagship HMS VICTORY, Admiral Sir David Beatty and a World War I British sailor. Printed bottom centre "From the VICTORY to the QUEEN ELIZABETH For the ships may change but the spirit remains".HistoryHMS QUEEN ELIZABETH, a Dreadnought battleship, was launched on 16 October 1913 at Portsmouth, Hampshire and commissioned for service in the Royal Navy in January 1915. The battleship became the flagship for several naval operations including the 1915 Dardanelles Campaign and the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force of that year. From 1919 to 1924 QUEEN ELIZABETH became the flagship for the Atlantic Fleet and from 1924, for the Mediterranean Fleet, where she participated in the Spanish Civil War blockade. Following a reconstruction the battleship served in World War II but suffered extensive damage in a mine attack by Italian combat divers in 1941. Following repairs in America, the ship joined the Eastern Fleet in 1945 and took part in raids on Japanese bases in Indonesia. In July 1948 the vessel was scrapped.SignificanceThis tea towel is representive of the types of patriotic commemorative material produced during World War I.