Mervyn Mitton Posted January 28, 2012 Share Posted January 28, 2012 I must be honest and say that until I purchased this Group, I was not aware that Naval personnel were eligible to receive the famous MONS Star. This was awarded only for Service between August 5 - 22nd. Nov. 1914. Basically it was for members of our expeditionary Force sent to help defend Belgium. The Battles of Mons and Ypres saw severe casualities - however, our smaller Army held the Germans and we were able regroup and broke out from the lines in 1915 with the Battle of Loos. To be awarded the clasp and the ribbon rosette, the soldier had to have been under enemy fire and engagement. This superb group - with it's Long Service and Good Conduct Medal to the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve - came with the Engineer Officer's group - and no-one has any ides of who Smith was - or, where the medals came from. However, it is quite common for old servicemen to leave their medals to former friends and colleagues - and, I think this could be the case here. I will find out and let you know. The Royal Naval Reserve was established in 1863 for serving members of the Merchant Navy. The Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve came about in 1903. Leading Seaman A.N.Smith had been in the RNVR prior to WW1 as his min. 1914 Star has been privately named and shows that he was attached to the Clyde Division - which is in Scotland. When War broke out Britain's various Reserves were recalled to the Colours - however, there were immediate problems for the Navy. There were between 20 and 30,000 excess men for whom no places on the ships were available. The First Lord of the Admiralty - a Civilian appointment - was Winston Churchill and he decided that these men whould be put into uniform - formed into Naval Battalions and be sent to France to fight as soldiers. This must have been a terrible shock to men trained as seamen - but the decision was typical of Churchill. He sent untold numbers of men to their deaths because he always thought he was right. The Naval personnel were formed into 8 Bns. - each named after a famous Admiral - Smith was in Hood Bn.. Their were enough men to form 3 Brigades and a 4th. was made-up from the Royal Marines. The unit name was : British 63rd. (Royal Naval) Division. They fought in their own uniforms - at first, had no proper equipment and were sent off to Belgium. They tookpart in the Defence of Antwerp and when forced to retreat 1500 men fled into Holland - which was neutral - and were interned. The Division saw service in Egypt - fought at Gallipoli - Greece - The Dardenelles. Severe casualties had reduced the number of sailors and in July 1916 it was re-named as the 63rd. Division and fought on the Western Front in France for the balance of the War. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Boonzaier Posted January 28, 2012 Share Posted January 28, 2012 ooooooohhhhh.... subject that made me cry.... I saw a mons star group to the division for a very, very reasonable price, contacted the seller within a couple of minutes of it being posted.... and 3 days later he came back and said..."sorry, someone else was faster".... I made a wax doll and stuck pins in the lying bastid :-( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mervyn Mitton Posted January 28, 2012 Author Share Posted January 28, 2012 Ribbon Bar - Miniature Group and Main Group **click pictures to enlarge** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mervyn Mitton Posted January 28, 2012 Author Share Posted January 28, 2012 This is the full size 1914 Star - usually known as the Mons Star. The clasp was only given if the recipient had been engaged with the enemy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Boonzaier Posted January 28, 2012 Share Posted January 28, 2012 That is a very nice group indeed. any luck with him for service in SA in WW2? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mervyn Mitton Posted January 28, 2012 Author Share Posted January 28, 2012 The rare clasp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mervyn Mitton Posted January 28, 2012 Author Share Posted January 28, 2012 Reverse of Star Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Wolfe Posted January 28, 2012 Share Posted January 28, 2012 A fascinating post Mervyn. I was not aware that the naval had men on the ground during the war. This would make them members of the "contemptible little army" of which der Kaiser made mention. Thanks for posting this interesting group. Regards Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mervyn Mitton Posted January 28, 2012 Author Share Posted January 28, 2012 Part of naming Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mervyn Mitton Posted January 28, 2012 Author Share Posted January 28, 2012 Part of naming Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QSAMIKE Posted January 28, 2012 Share Posted January 28, 2012 Very Nice Naval Group........ Want to sell it...... Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mervyn Mitton Posted January 28, 2012 Author Share Posted January 28, 2012 The Miniature Group - from the look of it he had the Star gilded. Note, on the ribbon there is an additional medal - The Africa Service Medal. He must have moved to South Africa and during WW2 did Defence Duty. I think it has become lost, simply because he never bothered to have it mounted on his group - probably didn't want to disturb them ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mervyn Mitton Posted January 28, 2012 Author Share Posted January 28, 2012 Close-up of RNVR - LS&GC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mervyn Mitton Posted January 28, 2012 Author Share Posted January 28, 2012 Reverse of the 1914 Miniature. This would have been privately named and gives his original Division. Click to enlarge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mervyn Mitton Posted January 28, 2012 Author Share Posted January 28, 2012 Naming on the LS&GC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mervyn Mitton Posted January 28, 2012 Author Share Posted January 28, 2012 No Chris - we don't even know how Jenkins (the Naval Eng.) came to have them. He was probably guarding something? Thankyou for comments - I think it is a good group with lots of history - if he survived without being wounded he was very lucky. I think I'll hang-on to it for the present - however, a Strathcona's Horse would probably do the trick................ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odulf Posted January 28, 2012 Share Posted January 28, 2012 According to "The 1914 Star to the Royal Navy & Royal Marines" by W.H.Fevyer & J.W.Wilson (The Naval & Military Press, 1995) the medal was sent to him on 25-01-1919 and the clasp on 25-04-1928. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brett Hendey Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 Mervyn Congratulations on acquiring an exceptional group of medals. Regards Brett Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mervyn Mitton Posted January 29, 2012 Author Share Posted January 29, 2012 Again - thankyou for comments - and Odulf - you really are very helpful with giving info. - I promise you that all of our members are very grateful. I found two pictures on Google that I will add to the thread. Acknowledgements to a good article by Douglas Jerrold, that had these pictures. This shows a young man of the Naval Division. Probably from later in the War - he is wearing khaki uniform and his Naval cap is also khaki. He is carrying a .303Lee Enfield - which the men prior to Nov. 1914 didn't have the good fortune to be issued with. CLICK TO ENLARGE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mervyn Mitton Posted January 29, 2012 Author Share Posted January 29, 2012 Cap Badge for HOOD BATTALION. Worn on the khaki Naval cap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odulf Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 Cap Badge for HOOD BATTALION. Worn on the khaki Naval cap. Hi Mervyn, This is not correct! In the photo shown above, the cap tally is nown, NOT the brass cap badge. The brass cap badge was worn on the Army style khaki woolen or cottom peaked or vizor cap, in combination with the Army style uniform, NOT on the Navy style sailor's hat. See also my previous remark: http://gmic.co.uk/index.php/topic/50851-hms-tallies-how-to-tell-the-difference/page__st__20 #35 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mervyn Mitton Posted January 29, 2012 Author Share Posted January 29, 2012 Thankyou for making that clear Odulf. From the way it was described and shown on the Google site, I thought it was on the cap. Nice photo though ? Mervyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now