Tempted to use my latest opshoporium acquisitions as Lamington’s water bowls, but I’m worried about the impact of combined canine, military and patriotic symbolism on her delicate psyche. Empire ‘Shelton Ivory’ baby bowls. Stoke-on-Trent. Pattern 541. Circa 1940. #VintageChina

I’ve fallen down a rabbit hole with these baby plates. A little more snooping reveals that 541 is unlikely to be a pattern number, but is probably the date of manufacture in May 1941. The early years of WWII. Because, who doesn’t love military themed nursery crockery in wartime.

A closer look at my new baby plates reveal itty-bitty ships and aircraft. What the British bulldog is doing sitting on a rock draped in the Union Jack in the middle of the sea is anyone’s guess. Perhaps it is, as the text suggests, a challenge.

Zooming in to learn more about my new hobby of wartime themed babies’ crockey, it’s become apparent that there is a slight difference between the two plates. When a Union Jack is not enough for our intrepid bulldog, simply swap it for what appears to be Saint George’s Cross.

Here ends my mini-exploration into two small baby plates made during WWII and picked up at a local opshop today 16,500km away from where they were made 79 years ago. For my Mum who wanted photos and is tracking this thread, no, I'm not using them for the cat's new water bowls.