Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

A rare Persian Gulf and Great War campaign group of three awarded to Private F. R. Page, Royal Marines Light Infantry, one of just 32 recipients of the 1914 Star for services in the R.M. Machine Gun Party at the defence of Nieuport - he subsequently participated in the Konigsberg action and served ashore with the British East African Expeditionary Force

Naval General Service 1915-62, 1 clasp, Persian Gulf 1909-1914 (P.O. 14595 Pte. F. R. Page, R.M.L.I., H.M.S. Prosperpine); 1914 Star, with clasp (P.O. 14595 Pte. F. R. Page, R.M. Machine Gun Pty.); British War Medal 1914-20 (P.O. 14595 Pte. F. R. Page, R.M.L.I.), official correction to ‘R.M.L.I.’ on the first, generally good very fine (3) £400-500

Robert Frederick Page was born in Sidleston, Chester, in August 1889, and entered the Royal Marines Light Infantry in October 1907. Posted as a Private to ‘D’ Company, Portsmouth Division, he joined the cruiser H.M.S. Proserpine in July 1910, and saw active service in the Persian Gulf before returning to the U.K. in August 1912 (Medal & clasp). Joining the monitor Mersey on the outbreak of hostilities in August 1914, Page was next present at the bombardment of the flank of the German Army advancing on Lombartzyden during the battle of Yser, following which he was landed for the defence of Nieuport as a member of the 32-strong R.M. Machine Gun Party under Lieutenant Wise - the latter ‘was killed gallantly leading his men and the Corps sustained a loss of one killed and two wounded’ (Blumberg’s Britain’s Sea Soldiers refers).

In the following year, in July, the Mersey and her consort Severn played an important role in the destruction of the Konigsberg, carrying out bombardments off the Rufugi Delta on the 6th and 11th. In the first action, Mersey’s foremost 6-inch gun took a direct hit and she was also holed near the waterline, her resultant casualties amounting to six killed and two wounded. While on the 11th, when the Konigsberg was put out of action, two more of her ratings were wounded. See Keble Chatterton’s The Konigsberg Adventure for further details, so, too, Mersey’s ship log online at naval-history.net

In April-July 1916, Page once more found himself ashore, this time manning 4-inch and 12-pounder guns on field mountings in support of the British East Africa Expeditionary Force - Mersey landed 22 Marines for these operations, out of a total R.M. force of 220 men, many of whom succumbed to disease; see Blumberg’s Britain’s Sea Soldiers for further details. Page returned to the U.K. in March 1917, in which year he also received ‘prize bounty for the destruction of a German ship at Heligoland Bight whilst serving aboard Mersey’ (his service record refers). He did not, however, qualify for the L.S. & G.C. Medal on account of a ‘fair’ assessment on his record in 1915. He was invalided in November 1920; sold with copied research, including medal roll verification, although the whereabouts of his Victory Medal remains unknown.