HMS Canterbury 1916 C Class Light Cruiser Main Battery Gun Tompion

~ HMS Canterbury 1916 C Class Light Cruiser Main Battery Gun Tompion ~

This tompion, a gun muzzle cover, would have been fitted to one of the two main battery 6 inch guns.

The arms represent the See of Canterbury, dating back to 1349. The shield displays a pallium, symbolizing papal authority, and predates the Church of England's split from the Roman Catholic Church. The use of such arms by church officials dates back to the 13th century. The ecclesiastical pallium in heraldry differs from a regular pall, featuring a Y-shaped charge with fringed ends. The central cross is a pattée cross with arms narrowing towards the center.  The Crosses on the pallium, area cross-fitchée, symbolizing unshakeable faith and also representing the cross as a stake.

~ HMS Canterbury ~

Commissioned into the Royal Navy in April or May 1916, Canterbury was attached to the 3rd Battle Squadron in the Grand Fleet, commanded by Captain Percy M. R. Royds, and participated in the Battle of Jutland on 31 May – 1 June 1916. From 1916 to 1918, she was assigned to the 5th Light Cruiser Squadron, operating as part of Harwich Force in the North Sea to defend the eastern approaches to the Strait of Dover and English Channel. On 5 June 1917, she and the light cruisers HMS Centaur and HMS Conquest sank the German torpedo boat S 20 in the North Sea near the Shouwen Bank off Zeebrugge, Belgium. On St George's day, 23 April 1918, she was present at the great naval raid on Zeebrugge and Ostend. Later in 1918, she was assigned to operate in the Aegean Sea, where she served out the rest of the war.

~ Dimensions ~

Approx 20cm in diameter.

~ Condition ~

This roundel is in good condition with a small chip to the back that would not be visible when viewed from the front. Please see photographs as part of the condition report.

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