Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria, to include the Brian Ritchie Collection (Part II)

A well documented group of medals awarded to Rear-Admiral Joseph Bickford, Royal Navy

St. Jean d’Acre 1840, silver, fitted with contemporary silver bar suspension and ribbon buckle; Legion of Honour, Knight’s breast badge, silver, gold and enamels, with silver ribbon buckle; Order of the Medjidie, 5th class breast badge, silver, gold and enamels; Turkish Crimea, Sardinian issue, all unnamed as issued, contained in an old but damaged fitted case, together with miniatures of the first three and others for N.G.S. Syria and Crimea for Sebastopol in addition, the Legion of Honour with considerable chipping to enamels, otherwise nearly extremely fine ((9) £400-500

The medals are accompanied by a good quantity of original documents, including commissions as Mate in Ganges (September 1840); Lieutenant in Redwing (November 1841), Royal William (November 1841), Iris (November 1843), Retribution (November 1845), Vengeance (October 1846), and Cumberland (January 1851); Commander in Scout (September 1852), Albion (December 1852), Cumberland (March 1853), Princess Royal (January 1855), Cornwallis (July 1857), Victory (August 1857), re-appointment to Victory (Janaury 1858); as Captain in Her Majesty’s Fleet (21 July 1860); Examination certificate 1834; R.N. College qualification certificate 1835; and award document as a Knight of the Legion of Honour, dated Paris 7 April 1857.

Joseph Grant Bickford entered the Navy in October 1828, passed his examination in December 1834, and was Mate of Ganges during the operations off the coast of Syria in 1840. In the Princess Royal Bickford took an active part in the Black Sea campaign of 1855. He was one of the Commanders employed under Sir Thomas Pasely at the landing of the troops in the attack upon Kertch; was warmly engaged with the sea defences of Sebastopol on the eve of the unsuccessful assault of 18 June on the Malakoff and Redan; and was the second senior Commander present at the bombardment of Kinburn. He was in personal command of the ship during the period of a month which intervened between the invaliding of Lord Clarence Paget and the appointment of Captain Jones. Promoted to Rear Admiral on the retired list in 1876, Bickford died at Parr Station, Cornwall, on 6 September 1886, aged 72 years. For the related medals to Captain Jack Bickford, D.S.O., D.S.C., R.N. see Lot 992.