WW1 era Patriotic Matchbox Holder Commemorates the life of LORD KITCHENER

Some bugger burned holes with a cigarette = NOT UNCOMMON on this type of item

CONDITION = Exactly as=seen

Field Marshal The Right Honourable The Earl Kitchener KG KP GCB OM GCSI GCMG GCIE PC

Field Marshal Horatio Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener (24 June 1850 – 5 June 1916) was a British Army officer & colonial administrator

Kitchener came to prominence for his imperial campaigns, his involvement in the Second Boer War, and his central role in the early part of WW1

Kitchener was credited in 1898 for having won the Battle of Omdurman & securing control of the Sudan, for which he was made Baron Kitchener of Khartoum. As Chief of Staff (1900–1902) in the 2nd Boer War he played a key role in Lord Roberts' conquest of the Boer Republics, then succeeded Roberts as commander-in-chief – by which time Boer forces had taken to guerrilla fighting & British forces imprisoned Boer & African civilians in concentration camps

In 1914, at the start of WW1, Kitchener became secretary of state for war, a cabinet minister. One of the few to foresee a long war, lasting for at least 3 years, & having the authority to act effectively on that perception, he organised the largest volunteer army that Britain had seen, & oversaw a significant expansion of material production to fight on the Western Front

Despite having warned of the difficulty of provisioning for a long war, he was blamed for the shortage of shells in the spring of 1915

On 5 June 1916, Kitchener was making his way to Russia on HMS Hampshire to attend negotiations with Tsar Nicholas II when in bad weather the ship struck a German mine 1.5 miles west of Orkney, Scotland, & sank

Kitchener was among 737 who died

He was the highest-ranking British officer to die in action in the entire war