THIS desk blotter once belonged to the Duke of Wellington and was used by him for writing important Government letters.

It's up for auction at Duke’s of Dorchester, Dorset, in October.

The embroidered velvet and leather lined blotter, which is slightly larger than an A4 piece of writing paper, displays the Duke's crest and contains ink imprints from letters he has written - and even a doodle sketch of a face.

One ink imprint inside the blotter preserves an envelope cover addressed to 'The Post Master, Buckingham Palace Gate, W10'.

There is speculation that the ink print inside the blotter was made by the Duke after writing a letter to his elder brother Lord Maryborough, during his position of Postmaster-General in 1834 to 1835.

William Wellesley-Pole, 3rd Earl of Mornington, known as Lord Maryborough, was an Anglo-Irish politician.

In remarkable condition considering its age and regular use by the Duke, it probably dates to one of the two periods that Wellington was PM between 1828 and 1830 or 1834.

Before this date, the Duke of Wellington was most recognised for his important defeat over Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.

This year, 2015, marks the 200th anniversary of the battle which saw the Duke of Wellington march his troops into Waterloo, Belgium, where Napoleon had placed his army.

The British and French armies met for what was to be the final and most well remembered battle.

Wellington conducted an overwhelming defeat on Napoleon, although the victory cost a staggering number of lives.

Wellington had become known as the Iron Duke by his men, but even he wept when he reflected on the huge numbers of men killed that day.

The British had suffered around 15,000 casualties and the French around 40,000.

This was Wellington's last battle. He returned to England and started his political career again, becoming Prime Minister in 1828-1830 and again in 1834 for less than a month.

Timothy Medhurst, auctioneer and valuer at Duke’s, said: “This blotter represents an important piece of British history. It is a rare opportunity to own an object used daily by one of the most well known Tory Prime Ministers and the victorious General during the Napoleonic Wars.”

The Duke’s defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 put him in the top rank of Britain's military heroes.

In 2002 he was number 15 in the BBC's poll of the 100 Greatest Britons so it comes as no surprise that the auction house instructed to sell the blotter on October 15 is expecting it to sell for up to £2,000.

The two-day auction on 15th and 16th October is monumental in that it contains not just one, but two personal artefacts belonging to two of Great Britain’s most iconic Prime Ministers, the Duke of Wellington and Sir Winston Churchill.

Mr Medhurst said: "Also highlighting the auction is a cigar butt which was once smoked by another great Prime Minister, Sir Winston Churchill. It even shows his teeth marks where he habitually chewed the ends of his cigars.”

“The auction will also contain 1,500 lots of coins, medals, militaria and collectables.

"Spanning from Roman coins to Waterloo memorabilia including medals and newspapers from 1815, every part of World history is represented.”