Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria including the collection to Naval Artificers formed by JH Deacon

Naval General Service 1793-1840, 4 clasps, Martinique, Guadaloupe, Gaieta 24 July 1815, Algiers (John Mathews) with silver ribbon buckle and original ribbon, extremely fine £2500-3000

All four clasps confirmed on Message’s roll as John Matthews. However, in each case, the Admiralty clasp application lists confirm his name as Mathews, and as such it is a unique name. This medal was first sold at Sotheby in April 1910.

John Mathews served as Ordinary Seaman aboard H.M.S. Star at both the capture of Martinique in 1809 and at the capture of Guadaloupe in 1810. He served as Able Seaman aboard H.M.S. Malta during the bombardment, blockade and subsequent surrender of the fortress of Gaieta, Kingdom of Naples, in 1815, and in the same rate aboard H.M.S. Impregnable at the bombardment of Algiers in 1816.