China 1857-60, no clasp (J. Manser, Boy 1 Cl, H.M.S. Vulcan) an officially impressed later issue, good very fine £160-£200

Captain K. J. Douglas-Morris Collection, Dix Noonan Webb, October 1996.

John Manser was born in Battle, East Sussex, on 13 December 1843. He first entered the Royal Navy as a Boy 2nd Class aboard H.M.S. Victory in November 1858 and was drafted as Boy 1st Class in September 1859 to H.M.S. Vulcan, from which vessel he was sent to H.M.S. Melville and invalided from the service on 2 December 1861. His medal was issued on 4 October 1910, over 50 years later, and is officially impressed in the style in use at the time (the same style as used for the Persian Gulf 1909-14 awards to the Naval General Service Medal 1915-62).

Sold with copied service papers and medal roll extract.

Note: China Medals to the Royal Navy were issued unnamed; consequently such later issued examples provide the only means of obtaining officially named medals to the Royal Navy.