These curious items first appear in our third original booklet on the Issues of W.D. & H.O. Wills as :
67. FLAGS OF THE ALLIES – Shaped for buttonhole. (Adopted title). Overall size 59 x 37 m/m. Unnumbered. Fronts per Fig.44, printed by letterpress in colour. Attachment to flag bears subject title, and is inscribed “Wills`s Cigarettes. Regd. 530,973 D”. Plain backs. Home issue about 1915
1. Belgium
2. France
3. Great Britain
4. Japan
5. Russia
6. Servia
When the five volumes were printed together under a hard cover, in 1950, they included a new section of dates of issue, some of which had appeared in W.D. & H.O. Wills` “Works Magazine” in the late autumn of 1936, and others were supplied later, by the company, directly to us.
It is interesting to note that from this dates section we are informed that in the very same month these were issued so was another set, “First Aid”, the second version with the album clause, for the non-album-clause cards had been first circulated in April 1913. Both had replaced “Garden Life”, which was first issued in October 1914. Then, in March 1915, they were replaced by the set of “Recruiting Posters”
It is a mighty hunt to find these in the original World Index, where they have been shunted to the back under section “6.C. SHAPED ITEMS ON BOARD. Insert issues.”. The text is :
FLAGS OF THE ALLIES (A). Series of 6. See W/67
Their only stable mate in that section is the Australian “Football Flags”, with pins, branded for “Capstan” and “Havelock”.
And they remain at the back in our updated Wills Reference Book, still alone with those “Football Flags”, with a very similar text to the above :
FLAGS OF THE ALLIES (A). Unnd. (6). See W/67