Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Royal Navy L.S. & G.C., Anchor obverse (James L. Martin, Sergeant, Royal Marines 22 Years) fitted with small ring and straight bar suspension, nearly very fine £500-550

James Livesay Martin served as a Private 2nd Class aboard Fury in Parry’s voyage to the Arctic in search of the North West Passage in 1824-25. His L.S. & G.C. medal is not included in the incomplete Douglas-Morris roll but from its die state it must have been awarded prior to 1841. According to information provided by the Royal Marines Museum, Martin originally enlisted into the Woolwich Division and transferred to Portsmouth, joining 92 Company, after his service in H.M.S. Harrier from 1826 to 1828. Although he qualified for the Arctic medal, it does not appear to have been issued. His date of death is recorded as 25 August 1857, just three months after the London Gazette announcement of the award of the Arctic Medal.