1592970597000 1312637261000 Standard Record object-141472 1747245965164 1711380499000 1747245848565 adlib fitz-online adlib-object-141472 https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/141472 824edd5b-8144-3bb4-bd79-89a59748cc5f 8 reference term-42993 adlib-term-42993 93884c6f-c60c-39f7-a75d-f84d65288fe0 medal reference term-122711 adlib-term-122711 1db96904-a474-3b61-a8e5-6c2d9dd557ab Lester Watson Collection Coins and Medals Just as in 1848 the extensive land campaigns of the Napoleonic Wars and the other conflicts of the pre-Victorian era were recognised by the issue of the Military General Service Medal, those serving in the Navy at the time were recognised with the Naval General Service Medal. As with the Army equivalent and the East India Company's related award, many of the battles for which the medal was awarded had been fought so long ago that few if any claimants survived. In addition, bars were awarded for many actions whose significance and size were, despite the heroism displayed by those involved, relatively minor. The result was that many of the bars were issued in tiny numbers, with some combinations all but unique, and the medals command a very high price among collectors because of this rarity and individuality. This in turn, along with the manufacture in most cases of more bars than were eventually issued, has led to the `improvement' of many common awards where recipients' names are shared with those present at `rarer' battles. The medal also shares with the Military General Service and Army of India Medals the oddity that Queen Victoria, whose portrait they bear, was not the ruler under whom the battles for which it was awarded were fought. Although naval warfare of this period was hideously costly in lives and limbs, and most of the recruits unwilling conscripts, it was often fought in a rather different spirit to modern combat. Proof of this may be taken from the battle between HMS Shannon and the USS Chesapeake on 1 June 1813. Shannon, under Captain Philip Broke, found Chesapeake and USS Constitution refitting in Boston harbour, and sent Chesapeake's captain a challenge to come out and fight. Chesapeake eventually did so, and the fifteen-minute fight resulted in Broke's crew boarding and taking over the US vessel, although Broke was severely wounded. A further mark of the age is that when the US vessel left port it was accompanied by several pleasure boats whose owners were anxious to see the action from close by. 44 Naval General Service Medals were awarded for service aboard Shannon in this action, and this one was awarded to John Filer, a member of her Royal Marines contingent. His presence on the ship at this time has been verified, and the Medals Roll confirms the award of this medal to a man of this name. Lester Watson purchased this medal at some point before 1928; it had previously come up for sale in an auction at Glendinings in June 1919. CM.1378-2009 1 accession number CM.1378-2009 141472 priref 141472 Watson Catalogue 286 ordering M-0261 previous object number LW.0261 uri https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/141472 https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/141472 Bust of Victoria facing left obverse VICTORIA REGINA design Britannia with trident seated sideways on seahorse reverse design reference agent-149638 adlib-agent-149638 7376d833-d0a7-3be0-916e-9c892b7a24d8 The Fitzwilliam Museum Given by Lester Watson through Cambridge in America, 2009 reference agent-206432 adlib-agent-206432 e0b1da8e-f9e4-30be-9257-f82c89d45afb Watson, Lester 2009 2009 2009 given on loan to the Fitzwilliam Museum 2005-2009 1849 1849 1849 1849 1851 1 1851 1851 1851 ruler reference agent-151398 adlib-agent-151398 bb2cd0a1-0a27-3787-a684-475d3b199972 Victoria (1837-1901) with the title of ruler reference agent-174943 adlib-agent-174943 9c2be08c-ce74-3f9c-b796-3c936a5088e0 Victoria regina artist reference agent-174941 adlib-agent-174941 8ba653dd-3bef-332c-a3cb-822cc499c1fd Wyon, William mint reference agent-149658 adlib-agent-149658 4cb81521-c6ef-3826-8224-de2a104139c5 London reference term-106216 adlib-term-106216 825b8379-ec94-388e-9a59-624e40c090d0 London reference term-39778 adlib-term-39778 8bd60ed6-968d-3faf-8ad5-b4e4ee9bb245 silver Diameter mm 36.3 Weight g 36.73 reference media-116495 adlib-media-116495 0888faa2-b2f4-3b7f-b30a-a036fa6c3251 jpeg cm/cm15/LW_0261_281_29.jpg 1 height pixels 365 width pixels 122 1742589772728 1 image jpeg cm/cm15/LW_0261_281_29.jpg 1 height pixels 365 width pixels 122 1742589772728 1 image jpeg cm/cm15/LW_0261_281_29.jpg 1 height pixels 365 width pixels 122 1742589772728 1 image jpeg cm/cm15/LW_0261_281_29.jpg 1 height pixels 365 width pixels 122 1742589772728 1 image 0 media image reference media-116496 adlib-media-116496 055167a9-4a38-3051-9b8e-3a990a0e7860 jpeg cm/cm15/LW_0261_282_29.jpg 1 height pixels 365 width pixels 122 1742589766964 1 image jpeg cm/cm15/LW_0261_282_29.jpg 1 height pixels 365 width pixels 122 1742589766964 1 image jpeg cm/cm15/LW_0261_282_29.jpg 1 height pixels 365 width pixels 122 1742589766964 1 image jpeg cm/cm15/LW_0261_282_29.jpg 1 height pixels 365 width pixels 122 1742589766964 1 image 1 media image reference term-122970 adlib-term-122970 b450fa98-60c7-34b2-a640-44f09f296561 Naval General Service Medal (1793-1840) denomination reference term-98222 adlib-term-98222 b5ccc43a-7491-344e-b6ca-5df39a11c50e medals series reference term-108659 adlib-term-108659 cc732dec-4543-389e-a737-cf22bb7d2ee2 Military subseries reference term-107681 adlib-term-107681 e80da827-45c6-3b71-a3ef-28794a05e4a8 Britain subsubseries reference term-122712 adlib-term-122712 639b4532-b2cf-3f44-a24b-84974795c1a6 Royal Navy subsubsubseries history note Gift of L. Hoyt Watson; ex Lester Watson Collection, bt before 1928. Ex Glendining, June 1919 reference agent-149638 adlib-agent-149638 7376d833-d0a7-3be0-916e-9c892b7a24d8 The Fitzwilliam Museum 45-48, 111 reference publication-5886 adlib-publication-5886 a6056c29-399c-38dd-9710-5b3f2d44b8a6 British Battles and Medals 7th edn reference publication-5910 adlib-publication-5910 0d1d8526-5493-32bd-93b4-acd4cdcec7f9 British and other Campaign and Gallantry Medals From the Collection of Lester Watson (d. 1959)

reference term-122970 adlib-term-122970 b450fa98-60c7-34b2-a640-44f09f296561 Naval General Service Medal (1793-1840)

Naval General Service Medal (1793-1840) reference term-119622 adlib-term-119622 dd6626e9-5822-307d-aa31-13c8813e7555 struck object OBJECT