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The purpose of this blog is to showcase some of the medals I have in my collection. The collection covers the Royal Navy starting around 1880 however it does encompass the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879 as that is just too much of an interesting campaign to ignore! The collection runs up to the First World War and includes awards to men who served with the Royal Navy during the Russian Civil War and on the Yangtze River in China in early 1920's. There are several medals awarded to men who served beyond the end of hostilites and received Long Service and Good Conduct Medals during the inter war period. Whlst the overall theme of the collection is the Royal Navy from 1880 to 1930 there are several sub themes that I focus on. Medals to the Protected Cruiser HMS Magicienne for the Boer War and Jubaland campaign, medals to men who fought at the Battle of Jutland and finally George V Royal Fleet Reserve Long Service and Good Conduct medals. There are of course some medals which fall into more than one of these criteria and some which fall into none, just being medals to the Royal Navy between 1880 and 1930. I have not yet acquired a medal group to someone who served on HMS Magicienne was later at Jutland and was also awarded a George V RFRLSGC medal! I will post pictures of the medal or medals, biographical details of the recipient and pictures of some of the ships they served in.

Monday, 14 December 2015

Albert Davies - Acting Stoker Petty Officer

Albert Davies was born in Pembroke in 1884. Albert was the third and only boy of five children to William and Sarah Davies. The family lived at Golden Hill, St. Mary's Pembroke. His father, William, worked as a Dockyard Worker. By the time of the 1901 census Albert is 17 years old and is working as an Carpenter's Apprentice. He is living at home in the same address as as the previous census. There are only two other children still in the family home and Albert's father is now working as a Stationary Engine Driver.

Albert must have found the life of a Carpenter's Apprentice not to his liking as he chose to join the Royal Navy at very end of 1902. On the 30th December 1902 he signed on to serve in the Royal Navy as a Stoker for 12 years. He was described as being 5' 9" tall, this was to rise to 5' 10" by 1914, with dark brown hair, hazel coloured eyes and a fresh complexion. Interestingly his occupation is given simply as "Labourer" rather than that of Carpenter's Apprentice which he was employed as the previous year.

Upon joining the Royal Navy Albert was sent to the shore based establishment Vivid II. This was the navy barracks at Devonport and in particular Vivid II was the training school for Stokers and Engine Room Artificers. Albert spent nearly a year at Vivid II until being posted to his first sea going ship HMS Perseus on the 21st December 1903.

HMS Perseus 
 


HMS Perseus was one of 11 Pelorus Class Cruisers constructed and launched between 1896 and 1900. These small cruisers were reasonably well armed and protected for their size but were never expected to serve as part of a battle fleet. They spent their careers on overseas stations primarily for colonial "police" type work. HMS Perseus was part of the East Indies Fleet. Albert was to serve on Pelorus from 21st December 1903 until 8th May 1906. During that time the ship was engaged in coastal policing and anti gun running operations on the East Coast of Africa notably off Somalia supporting operations against the "Mad Mullah" who was in reality Mohammed Abdullah Hassan a Somali religious and patriotic leader who established a Dervish State and fought a 20 years long war against the Ethiopian, British and Italian forces until he died of influenza in 1920 following his defeat by a well coordinated air and land attack carried out by the British.For his part in the operations in and around Somalia Albert Davies received the Africa General Service Medal with the clasp Somaliland 1902 - 04.


Whilst serving on HMS Perseus Albert's character was rated as "Very Good". When he arrived on Perseus he was rated as Stoker 2nd Class this was increased to Stoker 1st Class from 14th April 1904. After arriving back in Britain he spent nearly 6 months based at Vivid II before being sent to HMS Royal Oak, a Royal Sovereign Class Battleship, on 1st January 1907. Albert only spent 6 months on Royal Oak before he was again serving on another Royal Sovereign Class Battleship this time HMS Ramilles where he was o spend the next 18 months. This was followed by 2 years spent on board HMS Queen a London or Queen Class Battleship which also saw Albert being rated as Leading Stoker. Throughout this period his character was consistently rated as "Very Good"

A short spell in Malta was followed by several postings to cruisers again following several years on battleships. By early November 1913 Albert was serving on HMS Forth a Mersey Class Cruiser. 
HMS Forth




Launched in 1886 HMS Forth was an obsolete Light Cruiser which was put into the reserve in 1903. From 1904 - 1914 she was used as a Submarine Depot Ship at Devonport, then the Humber for 2 years and finally from 1916 until 1919 at Harwich.

HMS Forth - Submarine Depot Ship


On the 30th December 1914 Albert signed to continue serving in the Royal Navy for another 10 years. He was rated as Acting Stoker Petty Officer from 7th September 1915. 
As HMS Forth was serving as a Submarine Depot ship from the start of Albert's time with her it seems likely that he had been chosen or volunteered to serve on submarines. His next posting after Forth was to HMS Dolphin which was a shore based establishment but was also the Royal Navy Submarine School. Albert spent a month there from 10th September to 7th October 1915 before being sent to HMS Maidstone which was a depot ship serving submarines in Harwich. 

Albert was serving as Acting Stoker Petty Officer on board HM Submarine E6 when on the 26th December 1915 HMS E6 left Harwich to carry out an anti-submarine patrol in the North Sea. As the submarine neared the Sunk Light Vessel she was signalled by a patrolling torpedo boat to keep clear. E6 continued on her course and within view of the torpedo boat struck a mine and disappeared. E6 sank taking all of her 31 crew with her. E6 lies in approximately 18 metres of water at Latitude 51' 48 and Longitude 0' 21

HM Submarine E6

 
Albert Davies was "Discharged Dead on 26th December 1915 - Lost his life on duty"

Albert is Remembered with Honour on the Plymouth Naval Memorial and is also commemorated on Panel 5 of the Royal Navy Submarine Museum's Memorial Wall.

Albert Davies' Africa General Service Medal with clasp Somaliland 1902 - 04


 

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