Medals for Services at Sea from the Collection of the Late Oliver Stirling Lee

Seven: Commissioned Supply Officer J. Vanstone, Royal Navy

Queen’s South Africa 1899-1902, 2 clasps, Cape Colony, South Africa 1901 (Sh. Std., H.M.S. Thrush); Africa General Service 1902-56, 2 clasps, Aro 1901-1902, Somaliland 1908-10 (168537 Ship’s Std., H.M.S. Thrush); Naval General Service 1915-62, 1 clasp, Persian Gulf 1909-1914 (168537 Sh. Std., H.M.S. Fox); 1914-15 Star (Wt. Std., R.N.); British War and Victory Medals (Wt. V.O., R.N.); Royal Navy L.S. & G.C., E.VII.R. (168537 Ship’s Steward, H.M.S. Fox), minor official corrections to rate on the third and last, contact marks to the earlier awards but generally very fine and a quite unique combination of Medals and clasps to the Royal Navy (7) £1200-1500

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, Medals for Services at Sea from the Collection of the Late Oliver Stirling Lee.

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All of the recipient’s pre-Great War Medals and clasps are verified on the published rolls, and constitute a quite unique combination of such honours to the Royal Navy. One of just 15 crew members of H.M.S. Thrush to earn the clasps “Cape Colony” and “South Africa 1901” to his Queen’s South Africa Medal, he went on to become the only crew member to add the “Somaliland 1908-10” clasp to his earlier distinction for “Aro 1901-1902” to his Africa General Service Medal, the former for subsequent service aboard the Fox - it is worth noting that only 46 men of the Royal Navy ever received the “Aro 1901-1902” clasp in the first place.

Jim Vanstone was born at Cawsand, Cornwall in July 1877 and entered the Royal Navy as a Ship’s Steward Boy in June 1892. As stated above, he went on to witness extensive active service in the Thrush, initially in the Boer War, and afterwards in the Aro expedition of 1901-02, a further clasp being added to his Africa General Service Medal for participation in the Somaliland operations of 1908-10 aboard the Fox, in which ship he also served in the Persian Gulf operations of 1909-14 and was awarded his L.S. & G.C. Medal.

On the outbreak of hostilities in August 1914, Vanstone was serving as a Ship’s Steward in the battle cruiser Lion, and he was subsequently present in her at Heligoland Bight on 28 August 1914, when she was hit by enemy fire on three occasions, Dogger Bank on 24 January 1915, when she was so badly damaged by the combined fire of the Blucher, Moltke and Seydlitz that she had to be towed back to port by the Indomitable, and again at Jutland on 31 May 1916, when she suffered serious casualties. Aside from those ships that were actually sunk at Jutland, none sustained more casualties than the Lion, suffering as she did six officers and 93 ratings killed, and another 43 wounded. Nor, too, did many ships survive such punishment, her main deck, funnel and port side all being liberally peppered with ‘great black splashes’ where enemy gunfire had found its mark - no better evidence of this damage can be found than in the photographs that appear in Fawcett’s and Hooper’s The Fighting at Jutland. Remarkably, given such statistics, the Lion’s guns were continuously in action, few accounts of the battle failing to mention the good effect she had on all who saw her, a reflection, too, of the aggressive tactics of Sir David Beatty, who was anxious to get to grips with the enemy.

Vanstone transferred to the training establishment Impregnable as a Warrant Steward in June 1917, where he was still serving at the end of the War, and remained a regular right up until his death, as a result of heart failure, in December 1927. By that stage he had attained the ranks of Commissioned Victualling Officer (w.e.f. 1921) and Commissioned Supply Officer (w.e.f. 1923).