Part 30
=Witu August, 1893.=--This bar, with the West Africa medal, was granted to about 200 men from H.M.S. "Blanche," "Swallow," and "Sparrow," who were landed under the command of Captain Geo. Robert Lindley, and with the assistance of Zanzibar and Sudanese troops punished the chief Fumo Omari. Two hundred and fifty medals were issued.
=Juba River, 1893.=--The bar for JUBA RIVER 1893 was awarded to about 40 men of H.M.S. "Blanche," who volunteered to proceed up the River Juba to release two Englishmen who were besieged by a force of Somalis, August 25th, 1893. They were commanded by Lieutenant Price Vaughan Lewis, R.N. Forty bars were issued for this expedition.
=Lake Nyassa, 1893.=--The bar for LAKE NYASSA 1893 was awarded to 36 men of the "Adventurer" and "Pioneer," two screw steamers of 35 tons, who were engaged against Makaujira and other chiefs, and in the bombardment of Okuirka in Nyassaland in 1893. One hundred and one Sikhs, who were also engaged, received the Central Africa medal, with clip and ring as described on page 228. Thirty-six medals with this bar were issued.
=Gambia, 1894.=--The bar for GAMBIA 1894 was awarded to the naval brigade from H.M.S. "Alecto," "Magpie," "Raleigh," "Satellite," and "Widgeon," which landed early in February at Bathurst on the River Gambia, West Coast of Africa, to operate against Fodi Selah, a slave-raiding chief. The expedition, which lasted from February 22nd to March 11th, 1894, only achieved its object of punishing the chief after surmounting considerable difficulties, and surviving much hard fighting, during which 2 lieutenants and 17 men were killed, and nearly 50 officers and men--mostly of the "Magpie" and "Raleigh"--had been wounded. Surgeon Bowden won the D.S.O. during this expedition.
=1893-4.=--It is noteworthy that those men of the 1st W.I.R. who were also engaged received the medal with bar for 1893-4, instead of the bar for GAMBIA 1894; a very definite distinction is thus made between the military and the naval medal.
=Benin River, 1894.=--The bar for BENIN RIVER 1894 was issued to those sailors and marines of H.M.S. "Alecto," "Philomel," "Phœbe," and "Widgeon" who, assisted by Houssas, fought against the chief Náná, the terror of the inhabitants of the Benin River, whom he had plundered for a number of years. The steam launch of the "Alecto," while steaming up the narrow creek leading to the stronghold Brohemie, on August 25th, was fired upon by a concealed battery, the steersman shot dead, and every man on board wounded. In this unfortunate affair Chief Petty Officer Crouch and Leading Stoker Joseph Perkins earned the Conspicuous Gallantry Medal for their exceeding bravery. On September 18th Brohemie was attacked and captured, and the expedition proceeded to another fortified town three miles distant, and this also was captured, together with Nana's war canoes, which had helped him so much in his depredations. Brohemie was then placed under the Niger Coast Protectorate. Commander Heugh and Lieutenants Hickley and Gore-Browne gained the D.S.O. in these operations.
=Brass River, 1895.=--The bar for BRASS RIVER 1895 was awarded to the men from H.M.S. "Barrosa," "Saint George," "Thrush," and "Widgeon" who took part in the attack on Nimbi, the stronghold of King Koko and other native chiefs, from February 17th to March 26th, 1895.
=Benin River, 1897.=--Those sailors and marines who landed from the following ships were awarded the bar for BENIN RIVER 1897: H.M.S. "Alecto," "Barrosa," "Forte," "Magpie," "Philomel," "Phœbe," "Saint George," "Theseus" and "Widgeon"; about 1,400 officers and men took part.
=Sierra Leone, 1898-9.=--The bar for SIERRA LEONE 1898-9 was awarded to those who landed from H.M.S. "Alecto," "Blonde," and "Fox," likewise the Colonial boat "Countess of Derby," and took part in the boat expedition up the river and were actually under fire. The men from H.M.S. "Blonde" were engaged in the Sherboro neighbourhood from May 1st to 15th, and with the men from the "Alecto" on the Boom Kittam River next day. Those belonging to the "Fox" and the "Countess of Derby" were engaged on the Brempé River between May 11th and 14th, 1898. This bar is wider than the others previously issued, as the inscription is in two lines.
=Mwele, 1895-6.=--By an Admiralty Order dated January 1st, 1897, a further grant of the West Africa medal was sanctioned, and the medal awarded to those who had taken part in the operations against Mwele, the stronghold of the rebel chief Sheik Mbarnok Bin Rashid, which was captured on August 17th, 1895. No bar was issued for this affair, the name and date MWELE 1895 being engraved on the edge of the medal in slanting Roman capitals, together with the name, etc., of the recipient. Those already in possession of the medal had MWELE 1895 engraved after their name. The little force comprised men from H.M.S. "Barrosa," "Phœbe," "Racoon," and "Saint George," and the 24th and 26th Bombay Infantry--their medals had MWELE impressed on one side of the claw of the suspender and 1895 on the other side--who also received the medal, while camp followers were given the medal in bronze. This medal is described on page 228.
=Central Africa, 1895.=--Payne has in his collection the only Central African 1895 medal believed to have been issued to the navy. It was awarded to Lieutenant J. S. Brogden, R.M.L.I., who afterwards became Captain R.N.
BOER WAR
During the Boer War a naval contingent was employed, and their assistance in the defence and relief of Ladysmith is one of the outstanding features of that long conflict. The men of H.M.S. "Powerful," who helped in the defence of Ladysmith under Captain (afterwards Admiral Sir) Percy Scott, R.N., whose genius was such a material asset to the beleaguered, did excellent work, while the naval brigade which took part in the Natal campaign and the relief of Ladysmith made splendid efforts. It comprised 39 officers and 403 men of the Royal Navy, and 2 officers and 50 men of the Natal Naval Volunteers, who during the fighting leading up to the relief, on February 28th, 1900, had fired 4,000 rounds of ammunition from the 4·7-inch guns, and 12,000 rounds from the 12-pounder quick-firing guns.
=Bars Gained by Navy.=--The officers and men of H.M.S. "Powerful" received the bar for the DEFENCE OF LADYSMITH. The bar for the RELIEF OF LADYSMITH was awarded to officers and men from H.M.S. "Terrible" and "Philomel." Men from the latter ships also took part in the battle of the TUGELA HEIGHTS. The sailors from the "Philomel," in addition to the bars already mentioned, received those for ORANGE FREE STATE and LAING'S NEK, while men from the "Monarch" and "Doris" were awarded bars for BELMONT, MODDER RIVER, PAARDEBERG, DRIEFONTEIN, DIAMOND HILL, and BELFAST. Men from H.M.S. "Naiad" fought in, and received bars for, CAPE COLONY, TRANSVAAL, WITTEBERGEN, and SOUTH AFRICA 1902.
Medals with bars to the navy are rare, and those with more than two particularly so. A leading stoker of H.M.S. "Doris" received, in addition to those mentioned above as awarded to men from his ship, the rare one for WEPENER, but though this bar to the navy was afterwards recalled, Dr. Payne has this rare medal with this and six other bars in his collection.
The crews of the following ships received the medal: H.M.S. "Barracouta," "Barrossa," "Beagle," "Blonde," "Doris," "Dwarf," "Fearless," "Forte," "Gibraltar," "Magicienne," "Magpie," "Monarch," "Naiad," "Niobe," "Partridge," "Pearl," "Pelorus," "Philomel," "Powerful," "Racoon," "Rambler," "Rattler," "Redbreast," "Sappho," "Sybille," "Tartar," "Terpsichore," "Terrible," "Thesis," "Thrush," and "Widgeon."
=Africa General Service Medal.=--This medal, described on page 254, was awarded to the army and navy. It was instituted by King Edward VII to commemorate and recognise the naval and military operations in East Central and West Africa, and on its institution the East and West and Central Africa medals were no longer issued.
=Jubaland.=--The medal with bar for JUBALAND for the operations against the Ogaden Somalis, from November 16th, 1900, to April 30th, 1901, was awarded to the officers and men of the Royal Navy and marines from H.M.S. "Magicienne," "Terpsichore," and "Scout."
=Gambia, 1901.=--Those members of the crews of H.M. ships who had received the Africa General Service medal with the bar for JUBALAND were not entitled to this bar.
=Aro, 1901-2.=--The crew of H.M.S. "Thrush" took part in the operations against the Aro tribe from November 15th, 1901, to March 23rd, 1902 (see also page 255). The naval recipients of the medal with the bar for ARO 1901-2 were 53 of the crew of the "Thrush," and 3 officers and 27 sailors belonging to the Protectorate gunboat "Jackdaw."
=Somaliland, 1902-4.=--In this campaign men belonging to the following ships participated in the expedition under Colonel Rochfort, C.B., C.M.G., and were entitled to this bar: H.M.S. "Cossack," "Dryad," "Fox," "Highflyer," "Harrier," "Hussar," "Hyacinth," "Mohawk," "Merlin," "Naiad," "Perseus," "Porpoise," "Pomone," and "Redbreast" (see also page 256).
=Somaliland, 1908-10.=--This bar was awarded with the medal to those who took part in the campaign. Men from H.M.S. "Hyacinth" and "Proserpine" were engaged.
=Transport Medal.=--King Edward VII, on his birthday, November 9th, 1903, instituted a medal which was granted as a special recognition of the magnificent work done, and for the nautical skill and perfect efficiency shown, by those who were engaged in connection with the Transport Service during the China and South Africa campaigns. On the obverse is the bust of King Edward VII, facing left, in the uniform of an Admiral of the Fleet, wearing his orders and decorations, and the legend EDWARDVS VII REX IMPERATOR. On the reverse, in the foreground, is a large liner ("Ophir") ploughing through the sea; above is a map of the world on Mercator's projection, which embraces the British Empire from the West Indies to New Zealand, but, owing to the circular form of the medal, omits the North American Continent; below is the legend OB PATRIAM MILITIBUS PER MARE TRANSVECTIS ADJUTAM. The medal, 1⅖ in. in diameter, is suspended by means of a straight swivel bar from a red ribbon, with two blue stripes each ¼ in. broad. The names are impressed round the edge of the medal in capital letters. The official announcement of the issue stated that the "Transport Medal shall be granted in future wars to the Officers of the Mercantile Marine serving in the transports" whenever a war medal is granted for the campaign. These medals have realised from £2 to £4 each at public auction.
MERITORIOUS SERVICE MEDALS
Under this heading I might have placed several of those earlier medals which were awarded when campaign medals had not been instituted, but the record for our purpose may begin with the institution of the Meritorious Service Medal on December 19th, 1845, when Her Majesty Queen Victoria decreed that a sum of not more than £2,000 per annum should be set aside for the payment of rewards in the form of annuities not exceeding £20, to sergeants recommended by the Commander-in-Chief in recognition of meritorious or distinguished services. The sum for disbursement was increased to £4,000 in June 1853. This medal bears on the obverse the diademed head of Queen Victoria, with the legend VICTORIA REGINA, and generally has the date of institution in the exergue, but in some of the earlier, and in the later issues also, the date is omitted. On the reverse (as illustrated facing page 136) is the inscription FOR MERITORIOUS SERVICE, surmounted by a crown, and encircled by a broad wreath of laurel. The suspender is of the same pattern as that issued with the India 1854 medal, and the decoration depends from a red ribbon 1¼ in. wide when worn by military sergeants, and a blue ribbon by sergeants of marines, who in 1849 were also granted the medal. Until November 1902 this medal could not be worn with the L.S. and G.C. medal. These medals realise from £3 to £4 10_s._ in the sale-room.
=H.E.I. Co.'s Meritorious Service Medal.=--On May 20th, 1848, the Governor-General of India instituted a medal for meritorious service for distribution among the East India Company's troops. On the obverse is the bust of Queen Victoria as on the war medals of the period, with the date 1848 in the exergue, and on the reverse the arms of the Company encircled by the inscription FOR MERITORIOUS SERVICE. The medal is 1¼ in. in diameter, and was suspended by a scroll clasp as used with the Sutlej medal by a red ribbon 1¼ in. wide. The name of the recipient was engraved in a neat running hand upon the edge of the medal. The issue of this medal was discontinued when the English variety was instituted. These medals have realised from £3 10_s._ to £5.
=Distinguished Conduct Medal.=--The next in chronological order is the medal for Distinguished Conduct in the Field, and was instituted on December 4th, 1854, as an indication of the "Sovereign's sense of the distinguished service and gallant conduct in the field of the army then serving in the Crimea." It was awarded to non-commissioned officers and privates only, and has since been given for gallant service in many other campaigns. By the decree the medal could be awarded after selection by the commanding officer. Originally a gratuity went with the medal, but that was discontinued in 1862. In 1881 it was decided that a bar bearing the full date of the action for which it was awarded should be given to a recipient who had again distinguished himself.
The obverse is like the Queen Victoria Long Service Medal, and on the reverse is the inscription FOR DISTINGUISHED CONDUCT IN THE FIELD. The same kind of clasp as used with the Meritorious Service Medal is employed for suspension by a red ribbon with a broad blue stripe down the centre. The first medals issued had the name, rank, regiment, etc., impressed or engraved upon the edge in Roman capitals, but the modern medals are engraved, and generally bear the date of the action, while those issued during the reign of King Edward VII were impressed in small block capitals.
These medals (see facing page 140) realise from £4 to £7 7_s._ in the sale-room, generally with a war medal representing the campaign in which it was gained. Groups are relatively higher.
=Conspicuous Gallantry Medal.=--This medal was instituted on August 13th, 1855, as a reward to petty officers, sailors, non-commissioned officers, and privates in the marines who had distinguished themselves in the Crimean War. With it gratuities were given ranging from £5 to £15. In 1874, after the Ashantee War, it was again decided to issue the medal, and to grant annuities to chief and first-class petty officers, and sergeants of marines, whenever the annual grant authorised by the Treasury had not been exceeded. This medal has the same obverse as the Meritorious Service Medal, and the reverse is practically the same, except for the inscription, which is FOR CONSPICUOUS GALLANTRY. The first medals issued were struck from the same die as the Meritorious Service Medal, the second and third lines being erased, and the words CONSPICUOUS GALLANTRY engraved in Roman capitals. The suspender in the first issue was the same as that used with the sister medal for the army, but in the second issue, which commenced in 1874, a straight bar was used for suspension from a blue ribbon with a broad white stripe down the centre. The names on these medals are engraved in capital Roman letters like the naming on the Distinguished Conduct Medal.
The medal issued during the reign of King Edward VII bore upon the obverse the same bust of His Majesty in Admiral's uniform as is used on the Naval Long Service and Good Conduct medals granted by him. These medals realise from £3 10_s._ to £5, but a medal of the first issue, together with the Baltic medal awarded to George Belding of H.M.S. "Firefly," realised £59.
=The Victoria Cross.=--This coveted decoration was first suggested by the Prince Consort, and Queen Victoria being desirous of taking into her royal consideration a means of adequately rewarding the individual gallant services, either of officers of the lower grades in the naval and military service, or of warrant and petty officers, seamen, and marines, ordained by Royal Warrant on June 29th, 1856, that "the cross shall only be awarded to those officers or men who have served us in the presence of the enemy, and shall have performed some signal act of valour or devotion to their country." With the cross an annuity of £10 is awarded to warrant officers, seamen and marines, non-commissioned officers, and privates, and for each additional bar £5 per annum is added to the annuity. In July 1898, owing to the unfortunate condition to which a recipient had been reduced, and so induced to sell his cross, it was decided that the Home Secretary might, in his discretion, increase the annuity to £50. On April 23rd, 1881, the warrant was revised to enable officers of any grade to receive the medal, and on August 8th, 1902, King Edward sanctioned the posthumous award of the cross, and of its issue to relatives of deceased men who had earned it; prior to this the brave fellows' names had been gazetted only. The new regulation was retrospective, so that the surviving representatives of men who had earned the cross as long ago as the Indian Mutiny received the bronze token of their relative's valour.
The cross (facing page 136) carries with it the right to append V.C. after the recipient's name.
The cross is made from captured cannon, and is not, as is generally and wrongly described, a Maltese cross, but a cross patée. It bears in the centre of the obverse the royal crest of a lion passant gardant upon the British crown, with a ribbon inscribed FOR VALOUR in a semicircle beneath it, the ends tucked under the raised edge. The cross has a pierced semicircular lug, through which a simple link is run to attach the cross to the laureated suspender by a V. The obverse has raised edges like the front, but the centre is circular. The name, rank, regiment or ship to which the recipient was attached is engraved upon the back of the suspender, and the record of the act which gained the decoration inside the circle on the back of the cross. The cross is suspended by a dark-red ribbon, 1½ in. wide, by military recipients, and by a dark-blue ribbon by naval recipients. The cross, owing to the fact that it is cast and chased, has often been copied, and I have had in my possession one which, but for its size, would have deceived experts, but it had the faults of all cast copies, having shrunk in the casting, and this is the one way of telling a fraud, although it generally needs the genuine article for comparison. The V.C. has realised in the sale-room from £43 for a lieutenant's won in the Mutiny to £175 for a private's won before Sebastopol.
The only Victoria Cross awarded for gallant services not in "the presence of the enemy" was given to Private Timothy O'Hea for extinguishing a fire in an ammunition van during the Fenian Raid in Canada, 1866. It sold in August 1900 for £50.
=The Albert Medal.=--The Albert Medal, commonly called "The Civilian's Victoria Cross," was originally instituted by Queen Victoria under a Royal Warrant dated March 7th, 1866, as a reward for heroic actions performed in saving life at sea. On April 12th, 1867, the Warrant was revoked by a second which instituted two new decorations respectively styled The Albert Medal of the First Class and The Albert Medal of the Second Class, the original Warrant instituting one class only. Ten years later, on April 30th, 1877, Her Majesty Queen Victoria signed another Warrant which extended the decorations to cases of gallantry in saving life on land.
By the Warrant of April 12th, 1867, it was ordained that the Albert Medal of the First and Second Classes, severally inscribed "For Gallantry in Saving Life at Sea," should be made only on a recommendation by the President of the Board of Trade; and in the Warrant dated April 30th, 1877, it was ordained that the award of the Albert Medal of the First and Second Classes, inscribed "For Gallantry in Saving Life on Land," should be made only on a recommendation by the First Lord of the Treasury. On September 13th, 1881, an amended Warrant was issued, ordaining that the award of the Albert Medal should be made only on a recommendation by the Principal Secretary of State for the Home Department, "Providing always that the preliminary steps and inquiry concerning the award of the Albert Medals severally inscribed 'For Gallantry in Saving Life at Sea' be, as heretofore, with the President of the Board of Trade." By Warrant dated April 30th, 1877, it was ordained that a register of the names of those who received the Albert Medal for Saving Life at Sea should be kept at the office of the Board of Trade. By Warrant dated Whitehall, March 24th, 1891, the previous Warrants bearing the dates April 30th, 1877, and September 13th, 1881, respectively, were amended, and it was ordained that the award of the Albert Medal for Saving Life at Sea should be made only on a recommendation of the Principal Secretary of State for the Home Department, "Provided always that the preliminary steps and inquiry concerning the award shall, if the award be to any one belonging to the Royal Navy or the Royal Marines, be with the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, and in other cases with the President of the Board of Trade." Further, that a register of the names of those persons belonging to the Royal Navy or Royal Marines, upon whom the Albert Medal for Saving Life at Sea shall have been conferred, shall be kept at the offices of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty. (See group facing p. 184.)
=Distinguished Service Order.=--By a Royal Warrant dated September 6th, 1866, Her Majesty Queen Victoria instituted the Distinguished Service Order for the purpose of recognising the special services of commissioned officers of the Army and Navy, likewise the Indian and Colonial Naval and Military Forces.
The badge consists of a gold cross patée, convexed, the ground enamelled white, leaving an edge of gold; on the obverse, in the centre, within two sprigs of laurel, enamelled green, is the Imperial Crown in gold, upon a red enamelled ground. On the reverse is the monogram V.R.I. within two branches of laurel, also upon a red enamelled ground. The badge is worn suspended from the left breast by a red ribbon edged with blue, 1 in. in width, from a gold laureated bar 1⅕ in. wide, fastened to the badge by two gold loops, and having a similar gold laureated bar with brooch attachment above. The award carries with it the right to append the letters D.S.O. after the recipient's name. (See facing page 208.)