Exceptional Naval and Polar Awards from the Collection of RC Witte

The Great War D.S.M. group of six awarded to Petty Officer R. S. Gifford, Royal Navy, a veteran of the Benin 1897 operations who was decorated for his services in the monitor Earl of Peterborough in the Dardanelles and Adriatic in 1915-17

Distinguished Service Medal, G.V.R. (168279 R. S. Gifford, P.O., Mediterranean Station, 1917); East and West Africa 1887-1900, 1 clasp, Benin 1897 (R. S. Gifford, A.B., H.M.S. St. George); Queen’s South Africa 1899-1902, 1 clasp, Natal (R. S. Gifford, A.B., H.M.S. Widgeon); 1914-15 Star (168279 R. S. Gifford, P.O., R.N.); British War and Victory Medals (168279 R. S. Gifford, P.O., R.N.), the second and third with contact marks and edge bruising, nearly very fine, the remainder generally good very fine (6) £1800-2200

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, Exceptional Naval and Polar Awards from the Collection of RC Witte.

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D.S.M. London Gazette 17 May 1917:
‘For good services on the Mediterranean Station.’

Robert Solomon Gifford was born in Bromley St. Leonard’s, Middlesex in February 1876 and entered the Royal Navy as a Boy 2nd Class in February 1894. Joining the cruiser St. George as an Able Seaman in January 1897, and removing to the Barrosa three months later, he witnessed active service in the Benin River operations and, having joined the Widgeon in October 1899, off South Africa and in Natal during the Boer War.

Having then attained the rate of Petty Officer 1st Class in March 1905, Gifford was reduced to Able Seaman for drunkenness later that year, but by September 1915, on his joining the the 12-inch gun monitor Earl of Peterborough, he had regained Petty Officer status, and he remained similarly employed until coming ashore for a final time in May 1919.

The Earl of Peterborough arrived at Mudros in November 1915, and was quickly employed off Suvla Bay, in addition to assisting in the subsequent evacuation from Helles. In February 1916, having moved to the Mitylene Squadron off Port Lero, she carried out further bombardments against Turkish batteries protecting Smyrna, for which purpose she sometimes carried her own “spotting” seaplane. Later in the year, having been allocated to the British Adriatic Squadron, she arrived off Venice, but as a result of the Italian C.-inC’s reluctance to expose his ships to nearby Austrian naval bases, the Earl of Peterborough did not really see any real action until May 1917, when she bombarded the Austrian lines of communication in the Gulf of Trieste, in support of the Allied offensive that became known as the Tenth Battle of Isonzo:

‘After considerable delays, the Earl of Peterborough and the Picton sailed from Venice on 23 May to bombard the railway line out of Trieste and the important Austrian airfield at Prosecco. They arrived in the firing position at 05.30 on the 24th, intending to fire off 50 12-inch shells each. The monitors kept up a steady fire on the airfield unmolested for half an hour, but then the shore batteries opened up, although their rounds fell short. Then eight enemy aircraft appeared and attacked fiercely, dropping bombs all around the monitors, splashed and splinters landing continuously on board. One 110lb. bomb landed on the Earl of Peterborough blowing a hole in the forecastle deck abaft the turret and injuring Kerr, the only casualty. She got her revenge when the newly modified 12-pounder H.A. damaged an enemy plane, enabling Italian fighters to finish it off. After blasting the airfield with a good proportion of hits, the monitors turned their fire onto the Austrian H.Q. and railway station. The spotting aircraft reported good shooting here also; the Italians were much impressed by the monitors’ cool performance so close to string enemy bases.’

Back in action in August 1917, the Earl of Peterborough and Picton opened fire on enemy dugouts and ammunition dumps around Mount Hermada on the 17th - six direct hits were obtained at about 16,000 yards range out of about 60 rounds fired - while on the 21st, in a repeat attack, once more assisted by the “spotter” seaplane, they scored 11 hits out of 65 round fired. Then in October, following the collapse of the Italian Second Army, the two monitors evacuated around 1200 people from Grado, thereafter lending support to the hard-pressed troops defending the Piave, less than 20 miles from Venice. But due to constant patrolling of enemy aircraft, their own “spotter” found the going tough, so, too, the monitors, who were ordered to tackle much smaller targets than usual, namely enemy boats and bridges on the Piave. Nonetheless, Earl of Peterborough managed four hits and set fire to a bridge in a bombardment in November.

Finally, in the summer of 1918, and having been moved to Valona in Albania, the monitors bombarded Austro-Bulgarian positions near the coast, work that won them warm praise from the Italian C.-in-C.