Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Sea Services Commemorative Medal 1914-1919, by Heming & Co, London, 51mm, silver, the obverse featuring Britannia standing on a rock holding a wreath and trident, the British lion at her feet, ‘The Sure Shield’ and ‘1914-1919’ around, the reverse inscribed within wreath ‘Sea Services Commemoration 4th August 1914-1919’, in case of issue, contemporarily hand-written on the case ‘Capt. H. J. Dickinson’; Bombardment of Scarborough Medal 1914, 32mm, silver, the obverse featuring the Arms of Scarborough upon a central shield between views of the coast, ‘Scarborough still Undismayed’, above, three ships bombarding the coast, the reverse inscribed ‘Bombardment of Scarborough Non Combatants by the German Fleet, Dec. 16th 1914’, nearly extremely fine (2) £80-£120

On 4 August 1919 a pageant was held on the River Thames in London to commemorate the mobilisation of the naval services in 1914 and to celebrate the victory.

The Yorkshire coastal resort of Scarborough was bombarded by the German battle cruisers Derfflinger and Von der Tann on the night of 15-16 December 1914. Some fifty shots were fired, killing 137 men, women and children and wounding another 592. Four months after the bombardment the ‘Scarborough Mercury’ advertised commemoration medals. The advert used the following text:
‘The Bombardment of Scarborough. An Issue of Commemoration Medals.
We have at considerable cost, had dies prepared by a firm of medallists of high repute in order to issue medals to keep in perpetual memory the bombardment of the town by German ships on the 16th December last.
The medals are of two sizes - one the size of a sixpence, and the other of a half-crown. The small size has been struck in gold, silver, bronze, and aluminium. The large size has been struck in silver, bronze and aluminium. The obverse represents the South Bay, with ships shelling the town. The reverse records the event and date of the same.’