American Toby Jug Museum 

The Soldier character jug modeled by William K. Harper and produced by Royal Doulton of Burslem, England, in a 1994 special edition commissioned by Lawleys By Post. This jug, together with the The Airman and The Sailor, pays tribute to the conscripted men who served in various branches of the British armed forces during World War II. The British Army came into being with the merger of the Scottish Army and the English Army following the unification of the two countries' parliaments and the creation of the United Kingdom in 1707. In building the empire, the Army fought in Europe, North America, Ireland, China, New Zealand, South Africa, India, New Zealand and other far reaches of the world. World War I was the most devastating in British military history, with over 700,000 men killed and over two million wounded. In World War II the British Army was one of the major fighting forces on the side of the Allies. Successes included defeating the Italians and Germans in North Africa and the D-Day invasion of Normandy. In the Far East the Army battled the Japanese in Burma. Today the British Army is one of the most technologically advanced, disciplined and highly trained land forces in the world, deployed in many of the world's war zones as part of a fighting force and in United Nations peacekeeping forces. A jerry can and haversack form the handle of the jug. The National Service Edition features a different handle, in this case an anchor. It was possible to have a National Service number incorporated into the accompanying certificate.