The Naval General Service medal awarded to Rev. Thomas Hardwicke, Chaplain of the Dreadnought at the battle of Trafalgar, one of only three Chaplains to receive the medal for this action

Naval General Service 1793-1840, 1 clasp, Trafalgar (Thomas Hardwicke, Chaplain.) good very fine £10,000-£14,000

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, Naval Medals from the Collection of the Late Jason Pilalas.

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Baldwin’s, July 1955; Fergus Gowans Collection.

Confirmed on the roll as Chaplain aboard H.M.S. Dreadnought at Trafalgar. 28 N.G.S. medals were issued to Chaplains, including 3 for Trafalgar.

Thomas Hardwicke was the son of Samuel Hardwicke, of St Peters, Worcester, and was educated at Worcester College, Oxford. He matriculated on 23 June 1789, and gained his B.A. in 1802, and M.A. in 1805. Made Fellow from 1822 to 1837, he was then Provost from 1831, and B. and D.D. in 1836. Hardwick was appointed to be a Chaplain in the Royal Navy aboard H.M.S. Illustrious in May 1804, and to the Dreadnought on 16 May 1805, in which ship he was present at the battle of Trafalgar. Returning to his studies at Oxford University, he was later rector of Neen Sollers cum Milson, Shropshire. He died on 20 February 1855.