Medals 1873-74

[DavidB]

HQ Staff - 20 officers (15 with clasp); 4 other ranks (1)
Special Service Officers - haven't got definitive numbers (anyone?)
2/23rd Fusiliers - 30 officers (20); 651 other ranks (287)
42nd Highlanders* - 32 officers (27); 656 other ranks (506)
2 Rifle Brigade - 30 officers (24); 650 other ranks (574)
1 West India Regt - 31 officers (12); 552 other ranks (276)
2 West India Regt - 31 officers (8); 672 other ranks (236)
Army Med. Dept. - 80 officers (31)
Army Hospital Corps - 3 officers (0); 129 other ranks (22)
Royal Artillery - 9 officers (6); 61 other ranks (16)
Royal Engineers - 8 officers (4); 82 other ranks (52)
Control Dept. - 36 officers (7)
Army Service Corps - 57 other ranks (7)
Miscellaneous others - ??? certainly a few army Chaplains, 2 from Corps of Serjeant Armourers

Known totals:- 310 officers (154); 3516 other ranks (1980)
* 2 officers and 97 other ranks of the 79th Highlanders are included in the 42nd's total. This volunteer detachment of the 79th served with the understrength 42nd for the duration of the campaign to make up the numbers.

[DavidB]

I only have a list of those who qualified for the Coomassie clasp, but they break down as follows:

HMS Active - 113 (13 officers; 100 other ranks)
HMS Druid - 48 (5 officers; 43 other ranks)
HMS Amethyst - 36 (3 officers; 33 other ranks)
HMS Argus - 30 (all other ranks)
HMS Simoom - 6 (1 officer; 5 other ranks)
HMS Barracouta - 3 (3 officers)
HMS Decoy - 1 (1 officer)
HMS Encounter - 1 (1 officer)
HMS Himalaya - 1 (1 officer)
HMS Tamar - 1 (1 officer)
Total 240

Or alternatively 177 Royal Navy & 63 Royal Marines
If anyone can add anything to this, such as absolute totals per ship regardless of service ashore or not, I'd be grateful.

Edit - well what do you know. Found some of the ships totals on the DNW database
HMS Active - 685 medals
HMS Amethyst - 274
HMS Argus - 176
HMS Barracouta - 304
HMS Bittern - 106
HMS Decoy - 74
HMS Dromedary - 81
HMS Druid - 259
HMS Encounter - 230
HMS Himalaya - 277
HMS Merlin - 62
HMS Seagull - 90
HMS Simoom - 207
HMS Victor Emanuel - 275

[DavidB]

2/23rd
Sgt Attlewell
Pte Cummin
Col-Sgt Elphick

42nd
Pte Adams
Sgt-Maj Barclay
Sgt Barton
Pte Nichol
Pte Ritchie
Sgt IM Street
Piper Weatherspoon
Pte White

79th
Pte Bell
Pte Cameron
Pte Jones

Rifle Brigade
Sgt Armstrong
Pte Taylor

2 West India
CSM Barrow
Pte Dunn
Pte Fagan
Sgt-Maj Kelly
Pte Lazore
Pte Lewis
Cpl Parris
Cpl Waison

Other Corps
S-Sgt Brookhouse, ASC
2nd Cpl Brooks, RE
2nd Cpl Cotton, AHC
2nd Cpl Hough, RE
2nd Cpl Little, RE
Sgt Page, RE

[DavidB]

The senior officers on the 1873-74 campaign were rewarded with the KCB or CB
Promotions and appointments to the Order 1874:

KCB:
Major-Gen Sir Garnet Joseph Wolseley
Captain John Edmund Commerell RN, VC
Captain William Nathan Wrighte Hewett RN, VC
Brig-Gen Sir Archibald Alison
Colonel John Chetham McLeod, 42nd Regt
Deputy Surgeon-Gen Anthony Dickson Home VC

CB:
Captain Walter James Hunt Grubbe RN
Captain Hon Edmund Robert Fremantle RN
Colonel John Carstairs McNeill VC
Colonel George Richards Greaves
Colonel Francis Worgan Festing RMA
Captain Percy Pitt Luxmore RN
Colonel Henry Evelyn Wood VC, 90th Regt
Colonel George Pomeroy Colley, 2nd Regt
Lieut-Col Hon Savage Mostyn, 2/23rd Regt
Lieut-Col James Maxwell, 1st West India Regt
Lieut-Col George Daniel Webber, 2nd West India Regt
Lieut-Col Arthur Frederick Warren, Rifle Brigade
Lieut-Col Baker Creed Russell, 13th Hussars
Lieut-Col Duncan MacPherson, 42nd Regt
Lieut-Col Francis Cunningham Scott, 42nd Regt
Lieut-Col Robert Home, RE
Lieut-Col Thomas Durand Baker, 18th Regt
Major Redvers Henry Buller, 60th Regt
Major Arthur John Rait, RA
Major William Francis Butler, late 69th Regt
Deputy Controller Matthew Bell Irvine
Staff Surgeon Ahmuty Irwin, RN
Surgeon-Major Thomas MacDougall Bleckley
Staff Surgeon Henry Fegan, RN
Surgeon Major Robert William Jackson
Surgeon Major Charles Benjamin Mosse

[DavidB]

And yet other officers received this Order for their services in 1873-74

GCMG:
Commander John Hawley Glover RN - Special Commissioner to Friendly Native Chiefs

KCMG:
Colonel Francis Worgan Festing RMA - command of troops within Gold Coast Settlements

CMG:
Colonel Robery William Harley - Administrator of Gold Coast Settlements
Captain Hon Edmund Robert Fremantle RN - command of Naval Forces Gold Coast
Roger Tuckfield Goldsworthy Esq. - Deputy Commissioner
Surgeon-Major Samuel Rowe - Medical Officer and Glover's Chief of Staff
Captain Reginald William Sartorius, 6th Bengal Cavalry - served with Glover's Force
Lieutenant John Henry Barnard, 19th Regt - served with Glover's Force
Major William Augustus Tryden Helden, 100th Regt - Special Service
Deputy Commissary Henry Frederick Blissett - charge of Stores & Transport at Gold Coast

[DavidB]

The Conspicuous Gallantry Medal (Naval equivalent of the DCM) lapsed after the Crimean War but was revived in 1874 specifically in response to the contribution made by the RN and RM to the Ashantee campaign.

There were maybe 19 or 21 recipients (if an article in The Times archive is to be believed).
Nine* of them were presented by their medals by the Queen at Windsor on 3 Dec 1874:
William Holloway, Quartermaster, HMS Rattlesnake
?? Godden, Coxswain of Captain's Gig, HMS Rattlesnake
William Sermon, AB, HMS Rattlesnake
William Yearworth, Capt of Foc's'le, HMS Encounter

Col-Sgt Masters, RMA
Sgt Taylor, RMA
Gnr William Dewhurst, RMA
Sgt Timothy Waters, RMLI
Pte Richard Townsend, RMLI
Bugler George Burnett, RMLI

* the article says nine, but then lists ten
Does anyone out there have a full list of CGM recipients? I'd very much appreciate a full list.

[Valentine]

I believe that I may have a Royal Navy CGM it would appear to have been my great grandfathers. It may just be a Victoria medal but the inscription reads 'W. St.John A.B HMS Rattlesnake 73-74. Queen Vistoria head on one side an a strange image on the back a chaotic scene of what looks like men with bayonetts fighting. It is attached to a black and gold stripped ribbon but it doesn't look that old. I also have his original certificate of service in the Royal Navy dated 14th Jan 1870 to 10th July 1879. I don't know if anyone can shed any light on this for me please. Thanks

[DavidB]

Hi,
The medal you describe is the standard campaign medal for the campaign. This one:
http://www.northeastmedals.co.uk/britis ... 873_74.htm

Do you have his service papers from TNA?

[Valentine]

amoaful73. Thanks for the link, that is the medal but a different bar attached to the ribbon. I do have the Certificate of Service in the Royal Navy written on parchment paper dating from Jan 1870 to July 1879. Some of it is very hard to read.