Captain Neville's Cigar Case

This is a cigar case, containing four cigars, the property of Captain the Honourable H. C. Neville, 1st Regiment of Foot Guards, the Grenadier Guards.

The Grenadier Guards landed at Kalamita Bay in the Crimea in September 1854, as part of the Guards Brigade, 1^st Division, English Army of the East.  These were Her Majesty Queen Victoria’s elite personal household guard.  In the Crimea, the Guards Brigade consisted of Grenadier Guards, Coldstream Guards and Scots Fusilier Guards.  The Guards battle honours include Alma, Inkerman, and the Siege of Sevastopol.

In 1854, cigarette smoking was definitely not in fashion.  Many enlisted soldiers chewed tobacco, but this was not a thing done by the officer class.  Most British officers preferred a pipe or a good cigar.  This cigar case is sufficient to hold six cigars, three on each side behind the canvas.  If you are a cigar smoker today, you can find very similar cases in any tobacconist.

The cigar case in this photograph is typical of those used to protect cigars from being crushed on campaign.  It, and the four cigars within, were carried by Captain Neville, Grenadier Guards, during the Crimean War.  As can be seen, one of the cigars is wrapped in paper.  The paper reveals the sad truth.  It contains the following hand-written note:

Capt. Hon. H. C. Neville

3 Bn  Gr. Guards

Killed at Inkerman  5 Nov 54

This artifact was photographed courtesy of the Guards Museum, London, UK.