Our set of the month for July is a classic Player’s issue, British Naval Craft, a series of twenty five large cards which came out in 1939, just at the beginning of World War II and the review in C.C.N. of October that year says “Maybe the Germans have better cause to know some of the vessels shown than we have today!” And so they might because on 13th December 1939, HMS Exeter (card no. 7) and Ajax (card no. 11) engaged the Admiral Graf Spee in the famous Battle of The River Plate. Another German battleship, Bismarck, was targeted by the Royal Navy in May 1941 and caused the shock sinking of HMS Hood (card no. 5) with only three survivors from a crew of 1,400. Revenge was sweet when Swordfish aircraft from the carrier Ark Royal (card no. 20) disabled the German raider, enabling the battleship King George V (card no. 1) to close in for the kill. The Ark Royal herself was sunk later that year when torpedoed in the Mediterranean – a month after another setback, the sinking of the battlecruiser Repulse (card no. 6) by Japanese torpedo-bombers. This really is a superb set with some amazing artwork by Frank Mason and fully descriptive accompanying texts, a reminder of Britain’s great naval tradition.

This set of L25 British Naval Craft 1939 in Finest Collectable condition is catalogued at £25.00.