Vintage Wood Shield/Plaque T.S. Mercury

The Training Ship Mercury, or TS Mercury, was a naval training establishment founded as a ship in 1885 and then a shore-based school at Hamble in Hampshire from 1892 until its closure in July 1968. Although one of over thirty pre-sea training schools founded during the Victorian period, it was the only privately owned establishment training boys for both the Royal and Merchant Navies. This solid oak shield/plaque has the motto 'men are the souls of ships' to the bottom, it comes in excellent condition and measures 7.5 inches long.