The Paul Bentley Collection

Pair: Chief Carpenter's Mate J. Rouse, Royal Navy

Baltic 1854-55, unnamed as issued; New Zealand 1845-66, reverse dated 1863-1865 (J. Rouse, Cf. Carps. Mate, H.M.S. Eclipse) the last with named lid of card box of issue, good very fine and a rare combination (2) £600-£800

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, The Paul Bentley Collection.

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One of only 60 New Zealand Medals bearing these reverse dates issued to the Royal Navy and Royal Marines, all to H.M.S. Eclipse.

Jordan Rouse was born at Minster, Kent on 22 July 1827 and entered the Royal Navy as a Boy Second Class in H.M.S. Ocean in April 1845. Appointed Carpenter's Crew in H.M.S. Howe in early 1848, he was advanced to Carpenter's Mate in April 1853 and joined H.M.S. Monarch in March 1854, in which ship he witnessed active service in the Baltic operations (Medal). Having then been advanced to Chief Carpenter's Mate in H.M.S. Eclipse in October 1862, he witnessed further active service in New Zealand.

H.M.S. Eclipse was a barque-rigged wooden screw sloop of 750 tons, armed with a 110-pounder Armstrong gun and two 68-pounder pivot guns, as well as two 32-pounders. Under Commander Richard Mayne, R.N., she was the first naval ship to enter the Waikato Heads. Having participated in the bombardment of Maori positions at the mouth of the Katikara River on 4 June 1863, Commander Mayne led a force of 200 Bluejackets at the capture of Merrimi in October of the same year. The following month Mayne commanded a force of 400 Bluejackets in the invasion of Waikato but he was seriously wounded in that action at Rangiriri and invalided home. Mayne was replaced by Commander Edmund Fremantle, R.N., following which Eclipse participated in the bombardment of enemy positions on 21 September 1865, in addition to sailing to Opotiki in the Bay of Plenty to investigate reports of the Reverend Volkner's murder.

Rouse was shore discharged in August 1870 and died in Sheppey, Kent in late 1872.

Sold with copied record of service, medal roll extracts, and other research.