Original British South Africa Boer War Queen Victoria Chocolate Ration Tin with Dedication to Owner - Captain Rupert Fawssett

Original Item. One-of-a-Kind. This is an outstanding example of a 1900 Queen Victoria chocolate ration box. The idea was that every soldier regardless of rank would receive a tin featuring Queen Victoria’s face and a Happy New Year greeting with a half pound of chocolate contained inside. Queen Victoria herself footed the bill for these tins which had been designed with rounded corners to make them easy to store in soldiers’ knapsacks. They were very popular with the troops and were often retained by them (sometimes with the contents uneaten) as treasured souvenirs of the war.

This example is in great shape with a dedication inside reading:

This is one of the Chocolate Boxes given by
the Queen as a New Year’s Present to Her Troops
serving in South Africa in the Boer War of 1899 to
1900. It belonged to Captain Rupert Fawssett
R.A.M.C. (attached 2nd Life Guards) who was the
Medical Officer with the Composite Regiment of
the Household Cavalry and who died at Bloemfontein
of dysentery on the 7th of May 1900, Aged 31 Years.

We found this obituary on Fawssett:

CAPTAIN RUPERT FAWSSETT, whose death from dysentery at Bloemfontein on May 7th was briefly announced last week, was the son of the late Rev. Robert Fawssett and of Mrs. Fawssett, of Upper Tooting. He was born at Coningsby, Lincolnshire, on March 4th, I869, and received his medical education at St. Thomas's Hospital, where he entered in 1887. He obtained the diplomas of M.R.C.S. and L.R.C.P.Lond. in 1892. He passed into Netleyin March, 1895, and was gazetted Surgeon-Lieutenant in July of the same year. He was attached to the 2nd Life Guards in September, 1897, and advanced to the rank of Surgeon-Captain in July, 1898. He went out to South Africa as Medical Officer with the Composite Regiment of Household Cavalry, was engaged with that Regiment in the operations under General French round Colesberg, and was present at the relief of Kimberley, and the capture of General Cronje and the surrender of Bloemfontein.

A really tremendous souvenir from a Captain who tragically died of dysentery during the Boer War. Comes ready for further research and display.