Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Pair: Ordinary Seaman W. C. Smith, Royal Navy, killed when the battleship H.M.S. Bulwark exploded, 26 November 1914
1914-15 Star (J.22935 Ord., R.N.); Victory Medal 1914-19 (J.22935 Ord., R.N.); Memorial Plaque (William Cowell Smith)

British War Medal 1914-20 (Capt. S. H. Yeo.) this with slack suspension and edge bruise, very fine; others better (4)
£100-140

Ordinary Seaman William Cowell Smith, R.N. was killed, aged 19 years, on 26 November 1914, when the pre-dreadnought battleship H.M.S. Bulwark blew up in unexplained circumstances on the Medway, near Sheerness, with the loss of over 700 lives. During the Great War the Royal Navy lost 4 ships to internal explosions whilst lying in harbour, the other three being, H.M. Ships Natal, Princess Irene and Vanguard. At the time there was much speculation that these losses were due to sabotage by enemy agents. However, the more likely explanation is that they were the result of the deterioration of the stocks of high explosives carried on board. Only fourteen men survived the sinking of H.M.S. Bulwark. Having no known grave, William Smith’s name is commemorated on the Portsmouth Naval Memorial.