The Douglas-Morris Collection of Naval Medals (Part 1)

Four: Military Medal, G.V.R. (Deal-3386 (S) Pte. J. Young, 149/(R.N.) F.A. R.M. Med. U.); 1914-15 Star Trio (Pte. R.M.) nearly very fine (4)

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, The Douglas-Morris Collection of Naval Medals.

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M.M. London Gazette 7 October 1918.

The following recommendation was extracted from official records: “Operations near River Ancre 24-25 May 1918. In spite of being warned by an Officer that he was courting almost certain death, he proceeded through a heavy enemy barrage in order to remove a wounded man from a position, which was at the time, under heavy shell and machine gun fire, to a place of safety.”

At the time of this action Private John Young, from Houghton-le-Spring, was serving with the 149th (R.N.) Field Ambulance Unit. Three Field Ambulance Reserve Medical Units numbered 1,2 and 3 were created to provide medical support to the Marine and Naval Divisions, the St John Ambulance Association providing the majority of the men, the majority of whom came from the North of England. Among them was a large percentage of miners, whose strong physique well fitted them for the heavy work of transporting wounded over the broken ground of Gallipoli and France, but the ranks contained all classes, theological students, clerks and business men. They were all enlisted as Marines and accordingly affiliated to Deal for pay and records. So intensely proud were they of being enlisted as Marines, that subsequent attempts to amalgamate them with the R.A.M.C. were successfully met with stubborn refusal. The surgeons, however, were initially mainly drawn from the Royal Navy. Each Field Ambulance Unit consisted of nine Medical Officers, one Lieutenant, one Quartermaster, one Sergeant Major and 171 NCOs and Men. Each unit was equipped with three horse drawn ambulances and seven motor ambulances. In 1916 the Field Ambulances were renumbered 148, 149 and 150 on joining the Royal Naval Division in France.