Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Four: Private William Bullock, Royal Marine Light Infantry, one of just 32 recipients of the 1914 Star for services in the R.M. Machine Gun Party at the defence of Nieuport - he subsequently participated in the Konigsberg action

Africa General Service 1902-56, 1 clasp, Somaliland 1902-04 (W. Bullock, Pte. RM., H.M.S. Fox.); 1914 Star, with clasp (P.O.9067. Pte. W. Bullock, R.M. Machine Gun Pty.); British War and Victory Medals (P.O.9067. Pte. W. Bullock. R.M.L.I.) light contact marks, otherwise good very fine and very rare (4) £800-£1,000

William Bullock was born at Ipswich, Suffolk, on 19 December 1877, and entered the Royal Marine Light Infantry on 23 April 1897. After basic training at the Recruit Depot, Walmer, he was posted as a Private to ‘B’ Company, Portsmouth Division. He was embarked in H.M.S. Mars (January 1899 to January 1901), Dolphin (March to October 1901), Magdala (November 1901 to April 1902), and Fox (April 1902 to December 1904). Whilst in Fox, he took part in the operations off the coast of Somaliland and was landed with the Naval Brigade for the capture of Illig (Medal with Clasp). Returning to the Portsmouth Division in December 1904, he was discharged ‘free on being transferred to the Royal Fleet Reserve’, 24 August 1904.

On the outbreak of hostilities on 2 August 1914, Bullock was recalled to the Portsmouth Division and on 8th August joined the monitor Mersey. ‘After the fall of Antwerp when the Belgian Army was falling back to Dunkirk and the race to the Sea between the adversaries was taking place leading up to the first great Battle of Ypres, the Dover Patrol under Rear-Admiral Hood was very active. On 18 October 1914, H.M. Ships Attentive, Adventure, Foresight, and Sapphire with Humber, Severn and Mersey and some British and French destroyers attacked the flank of the German Army advancing on Lombartzyde, rendering great assistance to the French and Belgian troops. The three monitors each landed 10 Royal Marines with maxims under Lieutenant Wise, R.N. to assist in the defence of Nieuport; Lieutenant Wise was killed, gallantly leading his men and the (R.M.) Corps sustained a loss of one killed and two wounded’ (Blumberg’s Britain’s Sea Soldiers refers).

In the following year, in July, the Mersey and her consort Severn played an important role in the destruction of the Konigsberg, carrying out bombardments off the Rufugi Delta on the 6th and 11th. In the first action, Mersey’s foremost 6-inch gun took a direct hit and she was also holed near the waterline, her resultant casualties amounting to six killed and two wounded; while, on the 11th, when the Konigsberg was put out of action, two more of her ratings were wounded. See Keble Chatterton’s The Konigsberg Adventure for further details, so too, Mersey’s ship log online at naval-history.net

In April-July 1916 Mersey supported the British East Africa Expeditionary Force, landing 22 Marines for these operations, out of a total R.M. force of 220 men, many of whom succumbed to disease see Blumberg’s Britain’s Sea Soldiers for further details. Bullock left Mersey at the end of December 1917, and in the same month was paid ‘Prize Bounty Share £3-10-5 for destruction of Konigsburg 6 & 11 July 1915.’ He took passage home to England in the S.S. Emperor of Britain, arriving at Portsmouth on 4 March 1918. After a spell on shore, he was posted to President III on 5 November 1918, for service aboard Defensively Armed Merchant Ships, returning to the Portsmouth Division on 15 January 1919. He was finally demobilised on 31 May 1919. Sold with copied record of service.