*British, GR Royal Navy Gill Lipped Rum Measure, Made in Birmingham*
The Gill was an older unit of liquid measurement. In England a gill was equivalent to five ounces. Sailors in the British Royal Navy received a daily ration (known as a tot) of a 1/2 Gill of rum.
Marked Crown over GR over 6, D over 20. George Rex, and the 6 denoting the Birmingham Weights & Measures office.
Until 1912/13, ‘Broad arrows’ were applied to ‘lipped’ measures. Starting in the 1950s, manufacturers marks were added along with Vocabulary numbers, used for Naval stores item identification. Consequently, there is a roughly 40-year period where RN measures lacked markings. The vast majority of naval rum measures were manufactured in Birmingham, so the mark from the Birmingham W&M office suggests that this was Royal Navy issue.
Royal Navy Lipped Rum Measures. The precision of ‘Lipped’ measures was favored over round ones. All naval rum measures, whether ‘lipped’ or ’round,’ had their interiors and the inner surface of the lip ‘tinned.’
Condition*
Where the handle fixes to the lip we can see that the joint has been strengthened or repaired, this looks old and does not detract from the piece. There are some age and service related dings to the measure. Please see photographs as part of the condition report.
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