Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Volunteer Force Long Service, E.VII.R. (3222 Gnr: G. E. Carey. 1/Glouc: R.G.A.V.) nearly extremely fine £40-£50

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, Medals from the Rob Campbell Collection relating to Clevedon, Somerset.

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George Edward Carey served as a Lance-Corporal with the 2nd Field Company, Wessex Divisional Engineers. His medal was awarded in January 1909, and the following article was published in the Clevedon Mercury and Courier, 8 January 1916:

‘Information was received in Clevedon on Wednesday that early on the previous morning Lance-Corporal George Edward Carey, of the 2nd Field Company, Wessex Divisional Engineers, attached to the Wessex Divisional Staff, had met with an untimely end at Exeter, where the Divisional headquarters are situated. The Lance-Corporal was the eldest son of Mr S J Carey and son-in-law of Mr H Taylor, both of Clevedon.... it appears the deceased, in company of another soldier and a few friends had accepted the invitation of an Exeter Landlord and his wife to a social evening with them on Monday at the inn in South Street, previous to the unit transfer to another station...

About six o’clock on Tuesday morning Mrs Dorothy, wife of the landlord, found the deceased who was fully dressed, lying at the foot of a flight of stairs leading to the basement of the house.... For about 14 months the deceased had been engaged on the Wessex Divisional Staff and was billeted in a house in the Friars. Before mobilzation he had been a compositor at the ‘Clevedon Mercury’ Offices where he had put in nearly 26 and a half years faithful services. He came to us on August 1st 1889, as a boy of only 12 years of age, and served a full term of seven years apprenticeship, so that by the early age of 19 he became a fully qualified printer... Such was his conspicuous ability in his trade that exactly eight years ago - with the commencement of January, 1908, he was appointed foreman of our printing establishment... He was also an old Artillery Volunteer, joining the Clevedon Company some five or six and twenty years ago and remained with it until the corps was disbanded, upon which he entered the Clevedon Territorial Engineers, in which he remained until his death...

The body was brought from Exeter to Clevedon on Thursday morning having been borne to the GWR Station at Exeter by a gun carriage provided by the Royal Field Artillery at the Depot, accompanied by a guard of honour from one of the line regiments stationed in the city.’

Sold with extensive copied research, including a photographic image of recipient.