Match Striker Gallery (Lister)

Company History

The company was founded by Robert Ashton Lister over 100 years ago to produce items from teak wood. A large proportion of the wood originally used by the firm was salvaged from British warships that were being scrapped or refitted.

Today the firm still exists and supplies high quality teak garden furniture around the world.

Marks

The marks shown are both from the first match striker shown below, the first mark is burned onto the base of the match striker, the second is on the metal plaque on the top which names the ship the wood was salvaged from.

Teak Match Strikers

The first wooden match striker was made from the teak of HMS Birmingham of Dogger Bank and Jutland Fame (as it says on the plaque), and has a striking plate applied to the base as shown in the picture. HMS Birmingham was sold for scrap in 1931 so the striker probably dates from around this time, or shortly afterwards.

The second example which is of a different design is made from the teak of HMS Terrible whose guns relived Ladysmith (guns from the ship were transported inland to relieve the siege of Ladysmith in South Africa during the Boer War). This example has a brass slide in which sandpaper is inserted to strike the match on. It has the Lister mark burned onto the base, but the brass plaque only has the name of the ship on. HMS Terrible was sold for scrap in 1932 so the striker probably dates from around this time, or shortly afterwards.

Both examples are especially interesting as most teak match strikers are of a simple barrel form, and are usually unmarked except for the name of the ship the wood came from.

HMS Birmigham Match Striker