Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Italian States, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, Order of St Januarius, an extremely rare breast star attributed to Admiral of the Fleet Sir George Martin, G.C.B., G.C.M.G., the fine pierced silver, silver-gilt and enamel star by Wm. Gray, 14 New Bond St., 75mm, with ‘sew-on’ gold eyelets at its eight principal points, one eyelet lacking, otherwise good very fine and an extremely rare London-made piece of insignia £3,000-£4,000

Provenance: Christie’s, March 1989, when sold with a damaged gold badge and contemporary leather case with note stating: ‘Admiral Sir George Martin, G.C.B., G.C.M.G., K.St.J., Admiral of the Fleet and Vice Admiral of the United Kingdom. died July 28th 1847. aged 83 - In 1811 he received the Order of St Januarius from the King of Naples as a mark of His Majesty’s approbation of the essential and zealous services rendered by him to that Kingdom and which was subsequently sanctioned by his own Sovereign.’

Sir George Martin received the Naval Gold Medal for the battle of St Vincent at which he was Captain of H.M.S. Irresistible and to which ship Commodore Nelson transferred his flag immediately following the battle, his own ship being badly damaged. Martin’s sword is held by the National Maritime Museum as is also a half-length portrait [a copy by Charles Landseer after the original by Sir Thomas Lawrence] showing Martin in admiral’s full dress uniform of the 1812-25 pattern, wearing the star and ribbon of the G.C.B., the St Vincent medal and the star of the Neopolitan Order of St Januarius.

Sir George Martin was the son of Captain William Martin, R.N., and his wife Arabella, the daughter of Admiral Sir William Rowley. He appears to have first gone to sea in the Monarch in December 1776 as a servant to his uncle, Captain Joshua Rowley. He was at the action off Ushant on 27 July 1778, and followed Rowley to the Suffolk, which saw action in the battle of Grenada, 6 July 1779, and off Martinique in April and May the following year. He was promoted Lieutenant in the Russell on 16 July 1780, and later joined his uncle again in the Princess Royal at Jamaica. Promoted to command the sloop Tobago on 9 March 1780, Martin was then posted to the Preston 50, on 17 March 1783, and returned home in 1784. From 1789-92 Martin commanded the Porcupine 24, off the coast of Ireland and was in the Magicienne 32, in the West Indies in 1793. He was appointed to the Irresistible 74, in 1795, seeing action in the battle of Cape St Vincent. He was appointed to tge 74-gun Northumberland in July 1798 and was in charge of the blockade of Malta from May 1800, receiving the surrender of Valetta on 5 September that year. In 1801 he was under Lord Keith off Egypt. He commanded the Colossus in the Channel in 1803, the Glory in 1804 and in November of that year was appointed to the Barfleur, seeing action off Cape Finisterre on 22 July 1805. Martin was promoted rear-admiral on 9 November 1805, and became second-in-command of Portsmouth in 1806. The following year he was engaged in the blockade of Cadiz and spent time in the Mediterranean under Lord Collingwood. He was promoted vice-admiral on 31 July 1810. From 1812-14 he was commander-in-chief in the Tagus, and was knighted in 1814 when the Prince Regent visited the fleet at Spithead in 1814. He was made admiral on 19 July 1821, and was commander-in-chief at Portsmouth, 1824-27, with his flag in the Victory. In retirement he eventually attained the rank of admiral of the fleet. He died on 28 July 1847, at his house in Berkeley Square, London.

Nicholas Carlisle, in his Foreign Orders of Knighthood, London 1839, records just nine British recipients of this rare order, the second of whom, after the Duke of Wellington, was ‘George Martin, Esq, Vice-Admiral of the Blue Squadron of His Majesty’s Fleet, and Commanding Officer of His Majesty’s Ships and Vessels on the coast of Sicily, G.C.B., “as a testimony of the sense which His Sicilian Majesty entertains of his Services,” for which Royal Licence was granted on 6 July 1811.