'Sapper William Hackett, V.C.', cigarette card, 1916

Cigarette card, No 123 of the 5th series of 'The Great War Victoria Cross Heroes', one of 8 sets of 25 cigarette cards, issued by Gallaher Limited, Belfast and London, 1916.

Portrait of Sapper William Hackett, 254th Tunnelling Company, Royal Engineers, after a photograph by Central Press.

The caption on the reverse reads, 'Sapper William Hackett, V.C. (Royal Engineers) won this honour for his gallant self-sacrifice. He was entombed with four others, but by digging they managed to cut a way out and three escaped. Although the gallery was closing in, the gallant sapper persisted in help-ing the fourth badly wounded comrade to escape, until the gallery collapsed and buried both'.

Hackett, born in 1873, worked as a miner for over 20 years and despite his age and a heart condition, he managed to join the Royal Engineers in 1915. The action for which Hackett was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross took place on 26 June 1916 while his unit were operating in the Shaftesbury Avenue Mine near Givenchy-les-la-Bassee.

Cigarette cards were produced from the mid 1870s until the end of World War Two (1939-1945). Used to strengthen thin cigarette packs the cards were quickly developed into advertising devices. Series of cards covering every conceivable subject, from sportsmen to flora and fauna, were produced to encourage collectors and potential smokers alike.

One of a collection of 103 cigarette cards.