Orders, Decorations and Medals

Pair: Leading Stoker Samuel Bishop, Royal Navy, who served in H.M.S. Warrior 1861-64, then the largest, fastest, most heavily armed and heavily armoured warship in the world

Baltic 1854-55, unnamed as issued; Royal Navy L.S. & G.C., V.R., wide suspension (Sl. Bishop, Lg. Stokr., H.M.S. Avon, 20 Yrs.), this last with slightly bent suspension post and a scratch over the ‘20’, one or two edge bruises but generally very fine (2) £400-450

Samuel Bishop was born in Leicester in May 1829 and entered the Royal Navy as a Stoker aboard H.M.S. Archer in March 1854, in which ship he quickly witnessed active service in the Baltic. But probably his most memorable ship appointment was the newly commissioned Warrior, which he joined in May 1861, then the first iron-hulled, armour-plated warship ever built for the Royal Navy, and the largest, fastest, most heavily armed and heavily armoured ship the world had ever seen. For his own part, life in her stokehold was difficult in the extreme, toiling as he did in temperatures of about 110 degrees Fahrenheit, shovelling tons of coal and ash, the air thick with dust and the noise indescribable. Indeed Bishop remained similarly employed until removing to the Asia in August 1864, thereby having served in Warrior during her prime, when crowds of upto 6,000 people turned out to greet her on her return from patrols in the Channel Squadron - and today, at Portsmouth, she remains a popular destination for those visiting the famous dockyard.

He was finally pensioned ashore as a Leading Stoker from the Avon in April 1875, in which year he also received his Royal Navy L.S. & G.C. Medal.