Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria, to include the Brian Ritchie Collection (Part I)

Marine Society Reward of Merit, (Alfred E. Stoker, April 1st 1919), swivel ring suspension, nearly extremely fine £100-140

Alfred Ernest Stoker was born in St. Pancras, London on 5 January 1888. From being a ‘Warspite Training ship’ boy he joined the Royal Navy as a Boy 2nd Class in 1907. Becoming an Ordinary Seaman in 1906, he was promoted to Able Seaman in 1907, Leading Seaman in 1914, attaining the rank of Petty Officer in February 1916. Stoker was awarded the Albert Medal for Saving Life at Sea for his actions in saving life when the monitor H.M.S. Glatton exploded in Dover Harbour on 16 September 1918; he was P.O. serving on the P.19 at the time.

Albert Medal London Gazette 31 January 1919. ‘On the 16th September 1918 a serious explosion occured amidships on board H.M.S. Glatton, lying in Dover Harbour. This was followed immediately by an outbreak of fire, and the oil fuel burned furiously and spread fore and aft. Efforts were made to extinguish the fire by means of salvage tugs. The foremost magazines were flooded, but it was found impossible to get to the after magazine flooding positions. The explosion and fire cut off the after part of the ship, killing or seriously wounding all the officers, with one exception, who were on board. The ship might have blown up at any moment. Lt. Belben, D.S.C., Sub-Lt. Evans, Petty Officer Stoker, and Able Seaman Nunn were in boats which were rescuing men who had been blown, or who had jumped overboard. They proceeded on board H.M.S. Glatton on their own initiative, and entered the superstructure, which was full of dense smoke, and proceeded down to the deck below. Behaving with the greatest gallantry and contempt of danger, they succeeded in rescuing seven or eight badly injured men from the mess deck, in addition to fifteen whom they found and brought out from inside the superstructure. This work was carried out before the arrival of any gas masks and, though at one time they were driven out by the fire, they proceeded down again after the hoses had been played on the flames. They continued until all chance of rescuing others had passed, and the ship was ordered to be abandoned, when she was sunk by torpedo, as the fire was spreading, and it was impossible to flood the after magazines.’ - Belben, Evans, Stoker and Nunn were each awarded the Albert Medal.

An account in the Marine Magazine, 15 May 1919, states that in addition to the episode above, he was also present at the battle of Dogger Bank and during the latter part of the war was with the Dover Patrol serving aboard H.M.S. Matchless.

Stoker applied for his Marine Society Reward of Merit Medal in 1919. He was invalided from the Navy on 15 June 1921 due to a fracture of the spine. Sold with copied service paper and other research.