The Royal Munster Fusiliers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army from 1881 to 1922. It traced its origins to the East India Company's Bengal European Regiment raised in 1652, which later became the 101st Regiment of Foot (Royal Bengal Fusiliers). The Royal Munster Fusiliers were formed in 1881 by the merger of the 101st Regiment of Foot and the 104th Regiment of Foot (Bengal Fusiliers). One of eight Irish regiments raised largely in Ireland, it had its home depot in Tralee and served as the county regiment for Cork, Clare, Limerick and Kerry. At its formation the regiment comprised two regular and two militia battalions.

The Royal Munster Fusiliers

(101st Foot & 104th Foot)

The Royal Munster Fusiliers served in India before the regiment fought in the Second Boer War. Prior to the First World War, the regiment's three militia battalions were converted into reserve battalions, and a further six battalions were added to the regiment's establishment during the war. The regiment fought with distinction throughout the Great War and won three Victoria Crosses by the conflict's conclusion in 1918. Following establishment of the independent Irish Free State in 1922, the five regiments that had their traditional recruiting grounds in the counties of the new state were disbanded and the Royal Munster Fusiliers ceased to be as a regiment on 31 July 1922.

Silk measure approximate 1-7/8” x 2-1/2”

History of tobacco silks In Cigarette packs;

Originally issued in American cigarette packets between 1905 and 1917, these ‘giveaways’ proved a very popular promotional item which was taken up by twenty British tobacco manufacturers at the advent of the First World War (1914). Silk cigarette inserts continued to be issued following paper restrictions announced by the government in 1917, but had faded out by the mid-1920s, except for a small resurgence in 1933-4. The subjects included religion, cricket, football, art, flags, army and naval badges, flowers, and clan tartans. Silk inserts were an adaptation of the popular cigarette cards. In North America between 1900 and 1936 silk cigarette cards, or inserts, were produced by tobacco companies as calculated promotional giveaways for men to pass on to women.