Military General Service Medal (1793-1815)

[Guest Darrell]

Managed to pick this one up recently. This medal covers a very early period and was created for service during the Napoleonic Wars of the early 1800's. These make the pocket book hurt

A little brief background on the medal itself and then the recipient.

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The Military General Service Medal 1793 - 1814

The Military General Service Medal 1793 - 1814 commemorates the campaigns and battles of the British Army between 1801 and 1814. The medal could not be awarded without a bar and this medal set the pattern for future British general service medals. The bars mainly commemorate actions of the Peninsular War, but also include various campaigns across the globe such as the West Indies, Egypt, Java, United States of America, etc.

Description: Silver 36mm diameter, obverse the diademed head of Queen Victoria, with the legend VICTORIA REGINA 1848. Reverse shows Queen Victoria standing on a plinth, crowning the Duke of Wellington with a laurel wreath. The inscription TO THE BRITISH ARMY is around the circumference and the dates 1793 - 1814 are in exergue.

Naming: in impressed serif capitals. This is a common style used on other medals of the issue period such as the 1854 India general service medal (only certain bars) and the officially impressed Crimea medal.

Bars; twenty nine were issued, multiple bars were manufactured in pairs or triples.

Bars Issued;

Egypt, Maida, Roleia, Vimiera, Sahagun, Benevente, Sahagun and Benevente, Corunna, Martinique, Talavera, Guadaloupe, Busaco, Barrosa, Fuentes D'Onor, Albuhera, Java, Ciudad Rodrigo, Badajoz, Salamanca, Fort Detroit, Chateauguay, Chrystler's Farm, Vittoria, Pyrenees, St Sebastian, Nivelle, Nive, Orthes, Toulouse.

Notes.

Applications were invited from the surviving eligible veterans for the medal in 1847. This was 34 years after the last battle and 47 years after the first that the medal commemorates, and the next of kin of the dead (unless the veteran had lodged a a claim prior to his death) were not eligible to claim. Therefore the numbers issued were never going to be large.The medal was issued in 1848 to the eligible of 25,500+ men who had made a claim.

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This particular medal was awarded to William Hinds of the 9th (East Norfolk) Regiment. He participated in the first stages of the Peninsular War during the battle for Vimiera.

William Hinds was born in the Parish of Lambourn near the town of Lamborn in the county of Berks in 1776. He enlisted in the 9th Regiment of Infantry on the 19th of July 1799 for unlimited service.

He went on to serve for 19 years and 242 days, being discharged on the 17th March 1819 at the age of 42 years.

William Hinds was 5ft 4 inches in height, had Brown Hair, Hazel eyes with a dark complexion.

He obviously could not write at the time of his discharge as he merely wrote his mark "X" on the discharge document papers.

The battle of Vimiera (Vimeiro) was fought on 21st of August 1808. Shortly after this battle the treaty known as the Convention of Cintra was signed ending the first phase of the battles in Portugal and Spain.

[Guest Darrell]

Obverse:

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Closeup of Clasp:

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Closeup of Obverse:

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Reverse:

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Closeup of Reverse:

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Impressed Naming on the rim:

a.

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b.

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c.

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Medal Roll of Mullens showing Hinds entry for this clasp (note missing S on Hinds):

1.

[Guest Darrell]

2.

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Discharge Papers 1:

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2.

[Guest Darrell]

Recently obtained a copy of the actual medal roll for Mr. Hinds.

Edited December 12, 2010 by Darrell

[Guest Darrell]

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[Rusty Greaves]

The most recent Liverpool Medals Catalogue has 2 General Service medals well-illustateded. One is a Military General Service Medal, bar Guadaloupe, awarded to Private Thomas Western, 25th (King’s Own Borderers) Regiment of Foot, later known as the KOSB. The other is for Naval General Service Medal, bar Egypt, Richard Withrill, Royal Marine, HMS Pique, for the 1801 Anglo Ottoman invasion of Egypt against France. Only 9 medals issued to HMS Pique.

 

 

 

The description of this Military General Service Medal, bar Guadaloupe, Private Thomas Western, 25th (King’s Own Borderers) Regiment of Foot, later known as the KOSB, Invasion of Guadaloupe 1810 reads: 

 

"Military General Service Medal, bar Guadaloupe, Private Thomas Western, 25th (King’s Own Borderers) Regiment of Foot, later known as the KOSB, Invasion of Guadaloupe 1810. Officially impressed: “T. Western, 25th Foot”

 

Confirmed on the medal roll.

 

Toned, some edge bruising through wear.

 

The medal has a long standing provenance:

 

First noted as sold in Sotheby November 1894, then in the Needes Collection 1939.

Then resurfaced in DNW during 2017 hammering for £1100=£1420.

 

By the time of the institution of the medal it had been 37 years since the events in Guadaloupe, by then only 616 survivors claimed the Guadaloupe clasp from the entire force present, 104 of them from the 25th Foot.

This was one of 55 single clasp medals claimed by the regiment to the 25th Foot.

 

The medal roll records that he served in the 1st Battalion under “Captain Terry”.

 

Captain, later Colonel Robert Terry was a long serving Officer of the 25th Foot, having joined back in 1799 and was present as a Captain in the Capture of Guadaloupe and St Martins during 1810.

 

 

 

The description of the early Naval General Service Medal, for Egypt 1801, Private Richard Withrill, Royal Marines. Naval General Service Medal, bar Egypt, Richard Withrill, Royal Marine, HMS Pique, for the 1801 Anglo Ottoman invasion of Egypt against France. Only 9 medals issued to HMS Pique. The  description reads: 

 

"Naval General Service Medal 1793-1840, bar Egypt, Richard Withrill, Royal Marine, HMS Pique, for the 1801 Anglo Ottoman invasion of Egypt against France. 

 

Officially impressed: “RICHd WITHRILL”

 

Confirmed on the medal roll, a unique name.

 

The medal has a long standing provenance going back to 1953.

 

Provenance: Baldwin January 1953, £2.50, Baldwin 1954, £2.25, John Hayward, August 1973, £68, Glendinings September 23rd 1987, £210, Ebay May 2007 £3,113, then Jager Medals, Feb 2018, £2185.

 

With copy extracts from ships pay books etc.

 

By the time of the issue of the medal close to 50 years after the event during 1847, only 9 men from HMS Pique lived to claim the Egypt clasp, the 

 

HMS Pique was a ship new to the British Fleet, it was previously owned by the French Navy, being known as “La Pallas” before it was captured during February 1800 by a British Squadron off the coast of France in a “well fought close and running action of 2 hours.”

The next year it was named HMS Aeolus but was then renamed to Pique in 1801. 

The pay lists refer to it as “La Pique”.

 

According to this entries in the Ships Book and Royal Marines records:

 

Mr Richard Withrill was born in All Saints, Wallingford, Berks circa 1779

 

Attested for service on 8th September 1800 with the Royal Marines, being signed up by Capt Timins at London.

 

Aged 21, standing 5 foot 5 3/4 inches tall. Brown hair, grey eyes and a fair complexion, having worked as a Labourer.

 

The Royal marines wasted no time in finding him a ship, joining the freshly captured HMS Pique on 29th October 1800.

 

He would served on board throughout the Egypt Campaign (2nd March to September 1801) until the ship was paid off in July 1802.

 

He saw 15 years of service with the Royal Marines, before he was discharged on 8th December 1815 “Discharged Over Age”.

 

In later life he is shown in the 1851 Census, living with his Son in Pyrton, Henley, Oxfordshire.

 

He is shown as a 79 year old Widower and “Pauper”.

 

THE PIQUE IN EGYPT

 

The ship served off the coast of Egypt during the Egypt Campaign from 8th March 2nd September 1801.

 

9th May 1801, letters received at Plymouth from Determinee of the 18th of March, states that she was well and was cruising off the Island of Candia (Crete) in company with La Pique.

 

On 30th May 1801, the French Xebec “Good Union” of 10 guns and 92 men from Alexandria, bound for France was captured by the Pique and Determinee.

 

On 5th June 1801, the Pique was chased by the French Squadron bound for Egypt off Brindis, but managed to escape with intelligence of the Squadron’s position.

 

Just after being in Egypt : “The English Frigate, La Pique entered Toulon on 12th of October 1801. She was on her way from Malta. The Frigate fired a salute of 21 guns, which the Admiral returned.”

 

The ship was paid off about 15th July 1802 after arriving home in Portsmouth.