Pair: Captain W.R. Stevens, Royal Navy

CHINA 1857-60, 2 clasps, Canton 1857, Taku Forts 1858 (H.M.S. Furious) contemporary engraved naming; CANADA GENERAL SERVICE 1866-70, 1 clasp, Fenian Raid 1866 (Sub. Lieut., H.M.S. Britomart) officially impressed naming, together with original parchment warrant as Staff Commander, 1882, Admiralty letter placing him on the retired list with the rank of Captain, 1894, and two newspaper cuttings concerning his experiences in China and Japan, the first with light contact marks, otherwise toned, good very fine and a scarce pair (2)

Captain William Richard Stevens served in the Chinese War and was present at the bombardment of Canton in 1857, at the taking of the Taku Forts, and then journeyed up to Tientsin. In 1858 whilst serving on the 16 gun paddle-wheel frigate Furious he was part of the Government expedition sent out with the intention of opening up the Japanese ports to English trade. His knowledge and experience of Japan and the Far East are the subject of the newspaper cuttings mentioned above, published at the time of the Russo-Japanese War. From 1890-1892 Stevens, then Staff Commander of H.M.S. Victor Emmanuel, was Queen's Harbourmaster at Hong Kong.