My mum and dad started smoking in the 30's. It was supposedly very fashionable to smoke and my mum was very fashionable. During the war smoking was claimed to calm the nerves. My parents lived in London and often had to rush to bomb shelters at all times of the day and night carrying two little children. I can see how they both got hooked on smoking. A habit they wanted to ditch in later years but found it very difficult. It wasn't until they were in their 60's and 70's that they managed to quit.
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| Mum and Dad in the 30's |
When I was going through my mum's belongings after she died I found this old cigarette tin with buttons kept inside. I nearly threw it away until I thought this looks like a really old tin so I removed the label she had stuck on it and kept it not really knowing what to do with it. My guess is the tin of cigarettes was purchased in early 50's.
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| An old Benson and Hedges cigarette tin. |
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| The Royal Crest |
Benson and Hedges was founded in 1873 by Richard Benson and William Hedges in London. The business was formed to supply cigarettes to Albert Edward who at the time was Prince of Wales.
The partners were successful, and in the early 1900s started to market their product in the U.S. and Canada.Of particular honour was that the company was issued a Royal Warrant in 1878 to supply their product to the Royal Family.
Due to limited demand in the royal family, Benson and Hedges's Royal Warrant was revoked in 1999. The removal of the crest was greeted positively by anti-smoking groups as a step of reducing cigarettes claim as a legitimate product.
