Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Six: Leading Seaman W. H. Shingleton, Royal Navy

1914-15 Star (J.1436. W. H. Shingleton. A.B. R.N.); British War and Victory Medals (J.1436. W. H. Shingleton. L.S. R.N.); Naval General Service 1915-62, 1 clasp, Iraq 1919-1920 (J.1436 W. H. Shingleton. L.S. R.N.); Africa General Service 1902-56, 1 clasp, Somaliland 1920 (J.1436 W. H. Shingleton, Lg. Sea. H.M.S. Clio.); Defence Medal, unnamed, mounted court-style on card for display, light contact marks, otherwise good very fine and better (6) £2,000-£2,400

128 N.G.S. Medals issued to R.N. with clasp ‘Iraq 1919-1920’, including 49 to H.M.S. Clio. 406 A.G.S. Medals issued to R.N. with clasp ‘Somaliland 1920’, including 117 to H.M.S. Clio. Only 49 received both medals and clasps.

William Henry Shingleton was born on 27 January 1891, at Tunbridge Wells, Kent. He enlisted in the Royal Navy on 25 May 1908, as a Boy II Class, aboard H.M.S. Ganges II, the Boy Training Establishment at Harwich. He was promoted to Boy 1st Class on 27 September 1908 and on the following day joined the 1,725-tonne armoured cruiser H.M.S. Inflexible serving with the Home Fleet. During service in this ship at 18 years he was advanced to Ordinary Seaman on 27 January 1909, and having begun his adult service he elected to sign a 12-year engagement. He was advanced to Able Seaman on 6 May 1910.

As an Able Seaman he served aboard the following H.M. Ships: Hogue, 12,000 tonnes, from October 1910; Antrim, 10,850-tonne armoured cruiser, from February 1902; Pembroke I Shore Base from December 1912; Hecla, 5,600 depot ship, from November 1913; Phoenix destroyer from June 1914; and Pigeon, 705-tonne destroyer, from June 1916.
During service aboard Pigeon he was promoted to Leading Seaman on 1 September 1916. In October 1917 he joined the shore base H.M.S. Pembroke I at Chatham, and then the 9,000-tonne depot ship H.M.S. Blake in April 1918 for service aboard the 1,607-tonne destroyer leader H.M.S. Lightfoot. He then returned to H.M.S. Pembroke I in June 1918, before joining the 9,800-tonne armoured cruiser H.M.S. Lancaster and the 1,070-tonne sloop H.M.S. Clio in October 1919. During his service aboard H.M.S. Clio in the Persian Gulf, he was one of the 128 officers and ratings seconded in 1920 for service in the small River Gunboats operating on various Iraq inland waterways. Later in 1920, Clio took part in the operations off the Somaliland coast which resulted in the defeat of Mullah Mohammed bin Abdulla Hassan and the collapse of Dervish power. His participation in these two operations led to the award of the Naval General Service Medal with clasp ‘Iraq 1919-1920’, and the Africa General Service Medal with clasp ‘Somaliland 1920’. He was one of 49 to receive both medals.

In August 1920 he was transferred to H.M.S. Jumna for further service in the Persian Gulf aboard Clio. On his return to England in December 1921, he returned to H.M.S. Pembroke I at Chatham from which, on 15 March 1922, he was discharged ashore, time expired. He then joined the Royal Fleet Reserve at Chatham on 30 September 1923. He blemished his character rating by being sentenced to 14 days’ cells whilst serving board H.M.S. Hecla on 31 December 1915, and 3 days’ cells whilst aboard H.M.S. Phoenix on 31 December 1916, coincidentally on New Year’s Eve on both occasions. Having signed for a 12-year engagement, he would not have been eligible to receive the naval Long Service and Good Conduct medal, which required service of 15 years.

Sold with copied research including record of service.