Gun Drill Medallion HMS Active

Guest

Here is an item that I had not seen before.

Gun drill Medallion/Fob awarded to Samuel Morris, HMS Active, South Africa 1877-8 for 1st place in a gun drill.

http://www.cotswoldmedals.co.uk/antiques-collectables/military/

Petty Officer Tom

Subject: Re: Gun Drill Medallion HMS Active Mon Jul 01, 2013 11:50 pm

New to me too Tom.
Had a look onthe web, nothing simular!

Guest

littlehand,

I couldn’t find anything else on the internet that even mentioned a medallion of that sort. Maybe it was some memento made up for the occasion to give the winners something to show off later. It is nice that it was engraved with the man’s name and ship.

The closest I have ever found were cash prizes being given to the gun crews (again for HMS Active) for the best kept guns. This occurred in October, 1879 at Portsmouth when they returned home from the Zulu War.

Petty Officer Tom

Subject: Gun Drill Medallion HMS Active Tue Jul 02, 2013 10:09 am

Hi Tom.
My first thought when I saw it , was that it may have indeed been knocked up on board the ship , as a memento to show off the ocassion , it certainly doesnt look like it was a Govt or Naval sanctioned piece of work in my humble opinion . That would explain why no others have been seen over the years .
90th.

Posts : 2871 Join date : 2010-06-02

Hi all

It is almost certainly a pocket watch fob (similar ones can be found on the web), probably engraved in South Africa to award to the winners of a competition. What is intriguing is that just a few years later the Royal Navy inaugarated the well known Field Gun Drill Competition, which survived until very recently and was hotly contested throughout the Royal Navy at the Royal Tournament. It was said to have been based on the Naval Brigade taking their guns to Ladysmith during the Boer War. Morris was an HMS Active Naval Brigade man in 1877/78 - I just wonder whether this is evidence that Field Gun Drill competitions by the Naval Brigade go back slightly earlier?

Steve

Subject: Gun Drill Medallion HMS Active Tue Jul 02, 2013 11:40 am

Hi rusteze .
You may well be correct .
90th

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