Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

A rare 'sole entitlement' British War Medal awarded to Able Seaman D. C. Godsiff, Admiralty Yard Craft Service, who operated auxiliary vessels at Chatham Dockyard 

British War Medal 1914-20 (D. C. Godsiff. Service with the Royal Navy.) in slightly damaged named card box of issue to ‘Civ.17’, extremely fine £120-£160

Daniel Christopher Godsiff was born at Chatham, Kent, in 1891. A civilian contractor, he served during the Great War with the Admiralty Yard Craft Service operating tugs, harbour ferries, launches and lighters. Posted aboard the 700-tonne tug Advice, Godsiff likely had an extremely busy war at Chatham; the tug crews worked to the tides on 12-hour days and were responsible for shepherding up to 205 ships of the Chatham Division Fleet in and out of the dockyard. As civilians working for a civilian service, the men of the A.Y.C.S. wore dark woollen suits and flat hats. Some adapted parts of the naval type 'No. 8 working dress blues'. Placed under a form of naval discipline, they answered to the Captain of the Dockyard and were issued On War Service badges to wear on their clothing to avoid white feather abuse. 

The grim reality of war made its impact felt very early on for the people of Chatham. The loss of the cruisers Hogue, Aboukir and Cressy on 22 September 1914 resulted in the deaths of some 1500 Chatham Division personnel and sent shock waves through the close-knit community. The U-Boat menace and regular attrition of life from mines heaped considerable pressure on the A.Y.C.S., especially when required to tow disabled ships from the North Sea and Thames Estuary back to the dockyard, often in inclement weather. The tug Advice was further utilised in the salvage of the steamship Irthington from 9 to 14 July 1917. 

Aside from the threat at sea, the evolution of warfare meant that Chatham dockyard found itself the target of the first night raid by Gotha bomber aircraft on Britain. At 11pm on 4 September 1917 the unprepared and fully illuminated town was struck by bombs from four enemy aircraft which created havoc. The Drill Hall housing large numbers of naval personnel suffered a direct hit which sent thousands of shards of plate glass screaming down from the roof upon the sleeping men:

'Some had never woken up. Apparently the shock appeared to have stopped their hearts. They were stretched out, white, gaunt, drawn faces, with eyes nearly bolting out of their heads. Others were greatly cut up, mangled, bleeding, and some were blown limb from limb. It was a terrible affair and the old sailors, who had been in several battles, said they would rather be in ten Jutland's or Heligoland's than go through another raid like this.' 

Known at the time as the 'Chatham massacre', a total of 136 sailors died. The end of the war brought peace to Chatham, but it wasn't long before resentment boiled to the surface, this time over the award of medals and war gratuities. Despite working alongside Royal Navy personnel, the civilian A.Y.C.S. men found themselves ineligible for both, the Admiralty arguing that they received higher rates of pay than naval ratings during the war, with the presumption that they had already been compensated. Raised in Parliament by Sir. T. Bramsden, Sir C. Kinloch-Cooke and Dr. Macnamara, a 'middle ground' was found where the crews of vessels engaged in open water rescues were recognised. Godsiff and 10 crewmates aboard Advice received the BWM, with a further 20 civilians of the Chatham tug fleet receiving the same. Recorded in 1939 as still aboard the tugs at Chatham, Godsiff died in January 1951. He rests in the Palmerston Road Cemetery.