One of the most exciting and memorable adventures in the career of the legendary Captain Horatio Hornblower is told in C S Forester's 'Flying Colours'. While a prisoner of the French on his way to trial for war crimes in Paris, Hornblower escapes by means of the daring recapture of the British cutter Witch of Endor lying in the port of Nantes.

The Witch of Endor is armed with six-pounder guns, one of which Hornblower runs out alone and fires successfully to fend off his pursuers. For each one of the vessel's ten guns, a limited edition Cannon Ball has now been created as a commemorative tribute.

Based on advice from The National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, the cannon balls are hand-turned in English oak salvaged from the beams of an old Worcestershire barn, possibly first used in a 17^th Century River Severn barge.

The oak base is mounted with a silver-gilt collar; open the top, and the eye is surprised and delighted by the revelation of a vermeil Witch of Endor, sailing on waves of cobalt-blue guilloche enamel.

C S Forester Society member Lawrence Brewer conceived the project. The model of Witch of Endor is based on the First Edition 'Flying Colours' dust jacket, with modifications advised by the Society's technical adviser Captain John Roberts RN and by Andy Hooker. The oak cannon ball is the exact size of a six-pounder of the time. The oak is French polished and mounted on a silver-gilt rope coil.

Your 'Witch of Endor Cannon Ball' will be a paperweight and desk accessory, a memorable gift and a focus of admiration in the home. Look within the base for a further surprise - a mariner's barometer to warn you of weather conditions as you join Captain Hornblower, Lieutenant Bush and Coxswain Brown on their escape home to England!

• Limited edition of 10, each piece numbered
• Each creation varies marginally, according to the structure of the 500 year-old wood
• Diameter 8.85cm; 3 7/16th inch
• Presentation in golden carriage case with signed Limited Edition Certificate
• Price ?700.00 (excluding transport) including a donation to the C S Forester Society
• Handmade to request with delivery approximately eight weeks from receipt of 50% deposit

Grateful acknowledgements to:

• Liza Verity and Brian Lavery, National Maritime Museum, for advice on armoury and rigging
• Andy Hooker and John Roberts for advice on 19th century cutters
• 'Sailing Ship Rigs & Rigging' by Harold A Underhill (Brown, Son & Ferguson 1938)

All enquiries to Lawrence_Brewer@hotmail.com; tel +44 (0)7720 393961, or to admin@csforester.org