Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Naval General Service 1793-1840, 1 clasp, Algiers (C. Caley, Midshipman.) with contemporary silver riband buckle, nearly extremely fine £1800-2200

Charles Caley came from a Yorkshire family ‘of high descent’, and entered the Royal Navy as a 1st Class Volunteer on 20 January 1810, serving in H.M.S. Sybille. Promoted to Midshipman on 8 February 1812, he remained in her on the Newfoundland and Home Stations until October 1814. He then joined H.M.S. Bombay, and served in her when she escorted the Queen of Sardinia and the three princesses from Cagliari to Genoa, and afterwards visited Tripoli, Tunis, and Algiers, for the purposed of liberating the Christian slaves held in bondage in those places. On 22 July 1816 he became attached to H.M.S. Severn, 40 guns, under the command of Captain the Hon. Frederick Aylmer, and served in her during the bombardment of Algiers, 27 August 1816. A letter written by a fellow midshipman aboard H.M.S. Severn, Edward Trevor, recounts the action: ‘We had scarcely one man left in our tops about 9 o’clock [p.m.], and about half past nine a shot came through the fore top sail into the foretop and took two men’s legs off and sprung our main top mast. About quarter to eleven their battery began to slacken and at about midnight it was completely silenced for they had every gun dismounted. Almost the first shot that was fired struck the muzzle of my gun and hove the breech right off forward, but luckily it did no other damage. Presently another shot came between the port and took a man’s thigh off, and as I was standing close by one poor fellow a musket ball struck him in the stomach and he never spoke again. After the action was over we literally had not one whole rope in the ship. Our sides, masts, yards, sails, and rigging were as completely riddled as anything you ever saw, but notwithstanding we had next to the Queen Charlotte [Lord Exmouth’s flagship] the very worst situation, I suppose we have fewer men killed than any ship in the fleet, only 5 killed and 33 wounded. By midnight we had expended every grain of powder in the ship, and were obliged to haul off, and by luck the Admiral had just at that moment made the signal to that effect, so we all anchored again within about 4 miles of the town. The next morning what a sight there was, boat loads of dead going to be hove overboard, and we could distinguish the dead piled up in heaps on shore.’ Total British casualties for Algiers amounted to 128 killed and 690 wounded, including Caley, who was wounded during the bombardment.

Joining H.M.S. Rochefort, lying in Portsmouth Harbour, on 20 February 1817, he remained in her until moving to H.M.S. Liffey on 19 May 1818, and served in her when she conveyed Lord Beresford from Portsmouth to Lisbon; made an anti-piratical cruise around the West Indies; and took Sir Charles Bagot, H.M. British Ambassador to the Court of St. Petersburg from Great Yarmouth to Cronstadt. He was also twice in attendance on H.M. King George IV, the latter on the occasion of His Majesty’s visit to Ireland. He later served for a year in the East Indies, returning home as Acting-Lieutenant of H.M.S. Madagascar, and was confirmed in the rank of Lieutenant on his arrival back in England on 22 October 1823. Placed on the Reserved Half-Pay list, he was advanced to Retired Commander on 1 July 1864. He died in 1870.