The Douglas-Morris Collection of Naval Medals (Part 2)

Pair: East and West Africa 1887-1900, 1 clasp, Brass River 1895 (Commr. F. G. Dundas, R.N.); Imperial British East Africa Company Medal 1888-95, silver, unnamed as issued, nearly extremely fine and very rare (2)

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

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Frederick Dundas was born in 1846 and entered the Royal Navy as a Cadet aboard the Training Ship BRITANNIA in June 1859, when aged 13 years. He was promoted to Midshipman in 1863 and to Acting Sub Lieutenant on 5 July 1865. After studying at the Royal Naval College, Portsmouth 1864-65, he was appointed to his first ship H.M.S. WIVERN (February 1866), and was promoted to Lieutenant on 21 January 1867. He next joined JUMNA (May 1867) and whilst in this ship the Admiralty Board expressed their satisfaction of his conduct in saving the crew of BUCENTA, a merchant ship wrecked off the South West Prong, Bombay, with a lifeboat crew from JUMNA on 8 June 1869. He subsequently served aboard RESEARCH (June 1871), LORD CLYDE (September 1871), SWIFTSURE (May 1872), DÆDALUS (May 1874), R.N. College for Torpedo Course (July 1877), and MALLARD (August 1878). He was superseded from latter vessel for failure to observe proper conduct and rendering an unsatisfactory explanation. He was next appointed to INDUS (October 1879), VIGILANT (October 1884) additional for service with the Coast Guard at Galway, and NEPTUNE (August 1887) for service with the Coast Guard at Ilfracombe. He retired due to age with the rank of Commander on 16 June 1890, having served in the Royal Navy for just over 30 years.

Following retirement from the Royal Navy he was, in 1891, appointed Commissioner and Principal Naval Officer to the Imperial British East Africa Company, and successfully explored and surveyed the rivers Tana and Juba in the Company's Steamer KENIA. In the former river, after ascending 350 miles to its extreme navigable point, he left the vessel and proceeded with a caravan through an unexplored region to Mount Kenia, making the ascent of this 10,000 ft mountain from the southward. In July 1893 the KENIA started up the river Juba, Commander Dundas being the only European aboard. He succeeded in reaching Bardera, 387 miles upstream, a town of the up-country Somalis who eventually became quite friendly and one of the Sheikhs with two Chiefs went in the vessel 20 miles further up to the Rapids, where the wreck of Baron von der Decken's steamer, the GUELPH was lying, three rocks being through her bottom.

Commander Dundas was the first and only European to have been to Bardera since Von der Decken's ill fated expedition 27 years earlier, when he was murdered with five of his companions, only two escaping down river by canoe. In June 1893 he was appointed Superintendent of Marine in the Niger Coast Protectorate under the Foreign Office and served in the Brass River Expedition of 1895. He was mentioned in the Despatch of Rear Admiral F. G. D. Bedford, Commanding the Brass River Expedition, dated 26 February 1895 ‘The YAKOBA was piloted up the creek with great ability by Captain Dundus, late R.N., the Head of the Marine Department of the Niger Coast Protectorate. She was anchored off Sacrifice Island as a General Depot and proved most useful. Captain Dundas has done excellent work surveying and piloting and has been most indefatigable and useful to me in many ways’. Captain E. H. Gamble R.N., reported in his Despatch that ‘Captain Dundas has worked very hard for us’. (ADM 159 36 pt.2)

He was recommended for the Distinguished Service Order but being on the Retired List was adjudged to be ineligible but he was granted a Naval Pension of £50 per year on 3 April 1896. In 1897 he was appointed Naval Adviser to the Chinese Government for a term of three years under the immediate orders of the Viceroy of Chi-li, to whom alone he was responsible, by which means the difficulties with individual Chinese Admirals would be avoided. He was received at Portsmouth on 9 February 1897 for a three week course of Instruction in Gunnery & Torpedo, preparatory to his proceeding to Tientsin as Instructor of Cadets with the Chinese Navy. Commander Dundas died on 5 March 1899.