British Medals and Paperwork Archive of Naval Officer Edward White Williams Royal Naval Reserve and Merchant Navy with Presentation Cigarette Case from the Chamber of Commerce of the Island of Guiana and Photograph Album with Image of Arctic Explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton, medals consist of British War and Victory medals ‘LIEUT E W WILLIAMS R.N.R’ and George V bronze Mercantile Marine medal ‘EDWARD W WILLIAMS’. The archive and medals are housed in his original sailors suitcase where they have remained undisturbed for nearly 100 years. The grouping of documents includes various certificates relating to his service, a number of letters of recommendation giving references from various merchant ships which he had served on from the pre WW1 era and into the post WW2 period. He was serving in 1919 on board the S.S Arakaka as a 2nd officer when they were decorated for their service in the defence of the Caribbean island of Guiana. Williams was presented with a hallmarked silver cigarette case which has a gold Island of Guiana coin mounted to the lid. The case is hallmarked silver (Birmingham 1917) and is engraved to the interior ‘PRESENTED BY THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE & COLONISTE TO E. W. WILLIAMS FOR DEVOTED SERVICE 1914 TO 1918’. Newspaper cuttings accompany the case which detail the award of this cigarette case, also the official 1919 dated citation scroll.Two photograph albums accompany the grouping which visually document his naval career from the WW1 period and into the post war years. Within one of the albums is an original photograph of the famous Arctic explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton, who was giving a speech at the town hall, Port Stanley, a ticket for this lecture is loose with the album. The two albums are extremely comprehensive and are well annotated. Many very good images from his time in South America, with images in Peru, many good images from a part of the world which was rarely visited at the time. The albums move into North America and especially Canada, with good images of the Canadian wilderness etc. Overall this is a superb grouping which needs to be viewed to really appreciate the in depth historical note of this grouping.