Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Three: Private R. Bex, Royal Marines, who served in the Arctic in H.M.S. Assistance, in the Crimea in H.M.S. Medusa, and in the Third China War in H.M.S. Urgent, when he met his death in 1860
Arctic Medal 1818-55 privately engraved (Richard Bex); Crimea 1854-56, 1 clasp, Sebastopol, privately engraved (Richard Bex); Turkish Crimea 1855, Sardinian issue, privately engraved (Richard Bex) the first with neat solder repair to star and claw suspension; all three privately engraved in upright serif capitals and appear to have been engraved by the same hand; the first has additional faint crude scratch engraving ‘R. Bex’ to both east and west faces and the third has additional scratch engraving ‘Richard Bex’ to the edge; some rubbing to the edge of the second, contact marks, nearly very fine (3) £1,200-£1,600

Richard Bex was born in Godalming, Surrey, in February 1825 or 1826. By trade a shoemaker, he enlisted into the Royal Marines on 18 October 1845. He joined Assistance on 21 February 1852, as a Private, Royal Marines for the voyage in search for Sir John Franklin's lost expedition. He was paid off from Assistance on 17 October 1854, after returning home, the ship having been abandoned in the Arctic. He was then in Medusa 24 February 1855 to 19 July 1856, during the Crimean War. He joined Urgent on 16 November 1858, during the Second China War and was "Discharged Dead" at 8.30 pm on Sunday 14 October 1860 on the Woosung River, his body being taken ashore the following day for burial. It seems likely that he was not entitled to the medals for the Crimea. Whilst it is confirmed that he was aboard Medusa, for the Crimea campaign, Medusa was in the Black Sea between the qualifying dates of 1 October 1854 to 9 September 1855, though for only two months. The Crimea medal roll for Medusa has 58 names awarded to the ship, but there is also scrawled across each sheet -"Not entitled to Turkish Medal" and the heading for the ship's name has (’not on list of those entitled') - and this may indicate that she was not entitled to the British medal either. Although Douglas-Morris includes Medusa amongst those entitled to the Crimea Medal, she is not included in the listing of ships in British Battles and Medals; indeed the latter does not list the ships entitled to medals without clasps. However it does seem that the medals (whether Turkish or British - or both) were sent to the ship ("Delivered on board"), but, immediately under the ship's name at the head of the listing of the crew, is a cryptic note saying that a letter: "....from Commander in Chief dated 9th June 1856 states that out of the original number of medals issued to this ship, 58, Captain Osborne had returned 43 and accounted for the remaining 15 as stated against the men's names. Bex is noted as being still on board and that his medal was returned. He therefore does not appear entitled to either the Turkish Medal or the Sebastopol clasp and it is likely that his Crimea Medal was returned in accordance with the Commander in Chief's instruction. In relation to the medal for the Second China War, he does appear on the Urgent medal roll for the medal with clasp ‘Taku Forts 1860’, is noted ‘Discharged Dead’ but no mention of medal being issued.

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