Hope these work
The weight without the centre cane is the EllR 1953
Fantastic stuff Roy! The best lead so far. I think this completely 'squishes' the squished cane possibility?

Now looking odds-on to me the inkwells are indeed 50s WF.
As your 1953 ER weight also includes the symbol canes, it must be a bit special? I've looked at two others and they don't have it.
Maybe this symbol is one that was only used by a particular cane maker at WF in the 50s? I bet someone out there would know.
Re the etched signatures on the inkwell bases, does anyone know if these were added to
all 50s WF pieces, or just a few? I'm strongly inclined to believe they're genuine signatures. They're tiny so would imagine a bit difficult for a novice to do?