Inscribed to Lieutenant (later Colonel) Robert Haylock Owen, 2nd Battalion, Prince of Wales's Volunteers (South Lancashire Regiment). Born in Australia in 1862, Robert Haylock Owen was commissioned into the South Lancashire Regiment in April 1886 and joined the 2nd Battalion in Natal, South Africa. This Victorian mahogany double-door campaign writing box, engraved "R.H. Owen Esq. / 2nd Batt. South Lancashire Regt.", would have accompanied him on garrison duties in Natal and later India (1886–c.1899), where officers relied on such portable desks for correspondence, orders, and maps in remote colonial stations. Owen left regular service in 1902 as a Major, but returned during the Great War as Lieutenant-Colonel commanding the 3rd Battalion AIF. He led his men ashore at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915, earned the Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG), and was wounded in June 1915. Known affectionately as "Dad" Owen by his troops. A rare, named officer's campaign box with direct provenance to a distinguished Victorian and Gallipoli veteran of the South Lancashire Regiment and Australian Imperial Force. Box measures: 254mm x 355mm x 55mm (10" x 14" x 2.1").