Orders, Decorations and Medals

Alexander Davison’s Medal for the Nile 1798, bronze-gilt, the reverse field with contemporary engraved inscription (Peter White defence) fitted with small loop for suspension, nearly very fine and most interesting £200-250

Peter White was born on 1st August, 1785. He was exceptionally young, even for the 18th century, to serve on board a man of war during hostilities. At the time of Lord Howe’s action on the 1st June, 1794, he was a Bosun’s Servant aboard Latona, and still just 8 years old. He was present at the Nile as Ordinary Seaman aboard Defence, and in the same ship, as a midshipman, at Copenhagen in 1801. He was promoted to Master’s Mate for gallantry in a boat service action on 4 December, 1811. On this date H.M.S. Sultan sent off her boats to capture the French brig Languedoc and the eight-gun settee Castor, off Bastia, situated off the north east coast of Corsica. These two vessels were successfully boarded and captured for the loss of only four seamen wounded. Two men, Peter White and another called Michael Quinn, were promoted to Master’s Mate for gallantry in this action and were thereby responsible for clasp that was eventually authorised by the Admiralty nearly forty years later.

Peter White lived to claim his N.G.S. medal with 4 clasps, including ‘4 Dec Boat Service 1811’, and it is recorded as having been sold in the collections of Watters in 1913 and Hamilton-Smith in 1927. In view of his lowly rank at the time, he would have received Mr Davison’s Nile medal in bronze and it is therefore probable that it was gilded at a later date, possibly to reflect his later senior rank.