England: Boer War: Portsmouth Tribute Medal to Naval Brigade

Form:

Circular wreath with a loop for a ring at the top round a band holding a shield. Enamelled. Void between band and shield.

By:

William James Dingley, Warstone Lane, Birmingham

Date:

1900-02

Ref:

Hern: 792; Hibbard: A21; Laidlaw: 0795;

Variations:

Size	Metal	Mass	Value
27 mm x 32 mm	Enamelled Silver (Type 1)		$420
27 mm x 32 mm	Enamelled Silver (Type 2)		$420
27.4 mm x 31.8 mm	Enamelled Silver (Type 3)	9.2 gm	$420

Edge:

Plain.

Obverse:

Around the band, against a pale-blue enamelled background: “BOROUGH OF PORTSMOUTH” and an ornament at the foot. On the shield, taken from the Portsmouth coat of arms, an eight-pointed star above a crescent both in yellow enamel against a dark-blue background.

Reverse:

Reverse Type 1: Engraved on the band above: "SOUTH AFRICA" and below between stops: "1900-01". Stamped on shield Birmingham silver hallmark for 1900-01 (a) and below that the makers mark: "W.J.D".

Reverse Type 2: Impressed on the band above: "NAVAL BRIGADE NORTH CHINA" and below between stops: "1900". Stamped on shield Birmingham silver hallmark for 1901-02 (b) and above that the makers mark: "W.J.D".

Reverse Type 3: Impressed on the band above: "NAVAL BRIGADE" and below between stops: "SOUTH AFRICA 1899-1900 / NORTH CHINA 1900". Stamped on shield Birmingham silver hallmark for 1902-03 (c) and below that the makers mark: "W.J.D".

Notes:

Naval Brigades served onshore during the Boer War both in the defence of Ladysmith and in the eventual relief of the Town. Long-range naval guns taken for the large cruisers HMS Powerful and HMS Terrible were deployed on land.

HMS Powerful was built by Vickers Limited, Barrow-in-Furness and launched on 24 July 1895. HMS Terrible, her sister ship, was built by J. & G. Thomson on Clydebank and launched on 27 May 1895.

Both ships had arrived in Simonstown by 14 October 1899, the Terrible having left from England and the Powerful being already on her return voyage from China. HMS Powerful, under the command of Captain Hedworth Lambton, was ordered to Durban and the ship left on 26 October. On arrival there the naval guns, specially modified for use on land, were urgently transported to Ladysmith reaching there on 30 October. The siege of the town commenced two days later, isolating the Naval Brigade, but their guns forced the Boers to keep their distance until the siege was relieved on 28 February 1900.

HMS Terrible, commanded by Captain Percy Scott, left for Durban on 3 November and arrived there on 6 November. Scott had designed further modifications to the mountings of naval guns to make them mobile for use in the field. A second Naval Brigade joined the Natal Field Force, under General Buller, and their guns were vital in first halting the Boer advance and eventually causing their retreat and the lifting of the siege on Ladysmith.

HMS Powerful arrived back in Portsmouth on 21 April 1900 to a tumultuous welcome. On 24 April 1900 the people of Portsmouth invited the crew of the ship to a banquet at the Town Hall.

Her sister ship, HMS Terrible, had in the meantime been ordered to China to help suppress the Boxer rebellion. Naval Brigades were again sent ashore. She did not return to England until September 1902. On September 23rd 1902 the citizens of Portsmouth entertained Captain Scott, the officers, and crew of HMS Terrible at a public banquet in the Connaught Drill Hall. During the proceedings, Miss Dupree (the Mayor's daughter) presented to each of the Terribles, numbering about 700, one of these tribute medals.

It is not clear why three reverse types of this medal exist. Almost certainly type 3 was presented at the 1902 banquet to the members of HMS Terrible. Possibly type 1 was presented to the crew of HMS Powerful some time after the ship had returned to England. Some member of Powerful’s Naval Brigades did stay behind in Natal after the relief of Ladysmith, returning later on other ships. Type 2 was presented to those of other ships who were in the Naval Brigade in China during the Boxer Rebellion and may have been presented to those of HMS Terrible who had been in the Naval Brigade in China but not in Natal.