Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Khedive’s Sudan 1896-1908, no clasp (J. C. Dodd. Sto. H.M.S. Scout. 1896) contemporarily impressed naming in the usual style associated with this ship, edge prepared prior to naming, and some letters double struck, minor edge nicks, very fine £200-£240

For the Military operations in connection with the re-conquest of the Sudan, only two of Her Majesty’s Ships - Scout and Melita - were ordered into the operational zone. Their ships’ companies earned the Khedive’s Sudan Medal, without clasp, after at first being refused it.

The award of the Khedive’s Sudan medal to the two ships’ companies was only obtained when, after the initial submission had been negated by the Admiralty, the Queen assented on 30 January 1897 to “the proposal, made by His Highness the Khedive of Egypt, to confer a Medal upon all ranks of her Army and Navy, including Royal Marines and Indian Forces, employed in operations connected with the recent Expedition to Dongola.” Possibly because of the use of this final expression official Admiralty classification of this reward was accorded the contemporary title of the ‘Dongola Medal’.

On 5 August 1897 the Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean, was sent the list of Officers and men of the Scout and Melita entitled to receive the ‘Dongola Medal’, which he would receive in bulk at Malta from the Egyptian Government. These unnamed medals were finally received aboard the two vessels in January 1898, being distributed in this anonymous form to the crew of Melita. However, a more personalised approach was adopted by the Commanding Officer of the Scout, who had the awards named by hand letter-punch- the naming may well have been carried out by the artificers aboard Scout, or perhaps in Malta Dockyard.

John Charles Dodd was born in Patcham, Brighton, Sussex, on 9 June 1871 and joined the Royal Navy as a Stoker Second Class on 9 July 1890. Advanced Stoker on 23 May 1891, he served in H.M.S. Scout from 1 October 1895 to 19 December 1898. He was shore pensioned on 9 July 1902.