Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Baltic 1854-55 (George John Malcolm, Bomarsund, Sweaborg, Hango) naming contemporarily engraved in upright capitals, fitted with E&E. Emanuel, The Hard Portsea silver ribbon buckle, good very fine £300-360

Provenance: Purchased by the vendor in 2002 in a street market in Freiburg, Southern Germany.

George John Malcolm was born in 1830, son of Rear-Admiral Sir Charles Malcolm, of Dumfries, and nephew of Admiral Sir Pultney Malcolm. He entered the Royal Navy as a midshipman in 1842, becoming Sub-Lieutenant in April 1849, and Lieutenant in July 1849. In the Baltic he was Lieutenant-Commander of H.M.S. Pembroke and was present at the bombardment of Sweaborg, and in actions against the Russians in Estonia and off the coast of Finland. After he retired from active service in 1873, he entered the Turkish services as Pasha and was employed at Constantinople as Director General of the Abolition of the Slave Trade and Judge of the Slave Courts.

Malcolm was advanced to Rear-Admiral on the Retired List in 1882 and died in Seville in January 1884. His will was proved on 8 July 1884, and described him as being ‘late of Freiburg’. His widow was Sophie von Brockdorff who died in 1927. She was his second wife, having previously been married to Ottonie von Dungen, who died in 1866. His diary and letter books, including the period of his involvement in the Baltic, are held by the National Library of Scotland.