A WEST Devon jeweller has spoke of his bond with the Royal Family after the nation paid tribute to the Queen and marked her passing and funeral with a week of mourning.

John Baldwin, who runs Baldwin Jewellery with his son James in Tavistock town centre, said he felt very emotional when the Queen died, especially after meeting the Sovereign.

He was invited to a lunch reception with Plymouth civic leaders and the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh. The Queen was introduced to John and she thanked him for making her a brooch on behalf of the city and the county to celebrate Drake 400 - an anniverary marking Sir Francis Drake’s defeat of the Armada. As well as being commissioned to design and make a brooch for Princess Margaret when she was sponsor of HMS Illustrious, he has also made several mess silver sets for the Royal Navy, notably one to pay tribute to the medics who died or were wounded serving in the Falklands war.

John said: ‘I was unexpectedly emotional and tearful when I heard the Queen died. I was tearful and surprised myself how strongly I felt. But she did mean a lot to me because I have met her and the Duke of Edinburgh.

‘The event was Drake 400 after I’d been commissioned to make a brooch to be presented to the Queen when she came down for events to mark the anniversary. I was extremely honoured to be asked, the proudest of my professional life. It was lovely talking to her after we’d had a sit-down lunch.

‘I was very scared, but she smiled so wonderfully, was so gentle and very attentive. She was genuinely interested in me and a delight to talk to. I admit to being flattered.’

The brooch was a nef design, based on a common Elizabethan brooch featuring a gold Elizabeth ship encrusted with diamonds, emeralds and rubies. Although the version given to Elizabeth I by Drake 400 years ago has long disappeared, John researched it and upated it by adding ‘Tamar Pearls’ from the river’s mussels and the Royal Navy’s submarine service dolphin insignia at the top.

Although John had humble beginnings, ‘a working class lad’, from Leicester, he had the best possible start in life before becoming one of the country’s dwindling band of goldsmiths - he was apprentice to jeweller Ernest Blyth who was commissioned to design many a royal piece.

John said: ‘It was a great way to learn, at the feet of such a master. But so many pieces were made for the Queen, other royals and other important customers and none had my name on them, even though I made them. So, to have this brooch designed and made by me and worn by the Queen when she came to Plymouth in 1988 was beyond my dreams. It was the highlight of my career.’

John made a mock-up for the Queen to approve before he began work, it was then that she asked to meet him - leading to the invitation to the royal reception. After the event she sent a letter of gratitude to the county lord lieutenant, including an appreciation of John’s creation for a ‘most beautiful brooch,’ ‘Her Majesty would treasure.’