Per Aspera Ad Astra Mug (Through struggles to the stars) (1950s)

Per aspera ad astra is a popular Latin phrase meaning "To the stars, through hardship." What's the hisory? Virgil wrote in Aeneid Book 9: Macte nova virtute, sic itur ad astra. (Blessings on your young courage, boy; that's the way to the stars.) And the motto of The Royal Air Force is "Per Ardua ad Astra," dating back to 1912 and the formation of the Royal Flying Corps (RFC). The first Commanding Officer of the RFC (Military Wing) was Colonel Frederick Sykes. He asked his officers to come up with a motto for the new service; one which would produce a strong esprit de corps. Shortly after this, two junior officers were walking from the Officers' Mess and as they discussed the problem of the motto and one of them, JS Yule, mentioned the phrase "Sicictar ad Astra", from the Virgilian texts. He then expanded on this with the phrase "Per Ardua ad Astra", which he translated as, "Through Struggles to the Stars." Colonel Sykes approved of this as the motto and forwarded it to the War Office