William Henry Hawkes  was the State Trumpeter to Queen Victoria.  In 1869 he started a a repair shop and by 1876 he was in partnership with William Riviere as Riviere & Hawkes making Brass instruments. In 1889 he was established as W.H. Hawkes and Son and  in 1924 they opened factory at Edgeware Road London, and in 1930 merged with Boosey to form Boosey and Hawkes.  In 1994 I  had the great pleasure of touring this fantastic factory and watched an EEb Tuba being created - from sheet brass to final testing and polishing!!

This is a Hawkes and Son  French horn that was once used by the Royal Thai Navy, Thailand.  Scroll down to the lower photo where one can see the Crown and Anchor of the Thai Navy. It is inscribed as an Excelsior Sonorous Class with a  serial number of 66816.