Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

A well-documented group of eight awarded to Chief Stoker H. C. O. Seymour, Royal Navy, who enjoyed a long and remarkable career on Submarines, his service spanning two World Wars

British War Medal 1914-20 (K.52038 H. C. O. Seymour. Sto.2 R.N.); Naval General Service 1915-62, 1 clasp, Palestine 1936-1939 (X.52038 H. C. O. Seymour. Ch.Sto. R.N.); 1939-45 Star; Africa Star; Defence and War Medals 1939-45; Jubilee 1935, unnamed as issued; Royal Navy L.S. & G.C., G.V.R., 3rd issue, coinage head (K.52038 H. C. O. Seymour, Ch, Sto. H.M.S. Dolphin.) mounted as worn, very fine and better (8) £400-£500

Henry Charles Oliver Seymour was born in Cadoxton, Glamorgan, on 25 May 1900. A wool carbonizer, he joined the Royal Navy on 4 June 1918 and spent the remainder of the Great War on home service in Portsmouth. Raised Stoker 1st Class on 1 November 1919, Acting Leading Stoker aboard Tiger 2 in October 1924, and Stoker Petty Officer aboard Effingham on 6 March 1926, Seymour volunteered for service in submarines on 22 May 1929. Posted variously to XI, K26, L16, L56, and L71, Seymour was awarded his Long Service and Good Conduct Medal on 5 August 1933, and later served for over a year as a locomotive driver on the Palestine Railways during the Emergency. Here Seymour utilised his knowledge of machinery and internal combustion engines, evidence of which is clearly displayed in his Naval Service Record.

Posted to Narwhal on 30 August 1938, Oswald on 2 August 1939, and the newly commissioned shore establishment H.M.S. Stag at Port Said on 6 November 1940, Seymour spent much of the Second World War employed in the workshops and submarine stores. A letter from his commanding officer may explain the reasoning behind the posting: ‘Seymour has fluent French and Arabic. He can read and write the latter as well as speak it’. Returned home to Portsmouth in 1945, he served a spell as Dockyard Storekeeper before joining the Admiralty Constabulary on 13 March 1950. Discharged to pension six years later, he died on 28 January 1961.

Sold with a large archive including: The recipient’s full original record of service, spanning four parchment documents; Buckingham Palace forwarding letter for Silver Jubilee medal, named to ‘H. C. O. Seymour, Chief Stoker, P/K.52038’; Character certificate from the Admiralty Constabulary, dated 23 June 1956; ‘Crossing the Line’ King Neptune Certificate; four letters of reference, each speaking highly of the recipient and his ability to lead men; Education Certificates for Stoker Petty Officer (2); An original Will, leaving all his possessions to his wife, Mrs. Emma Kate Seymour; a cased Royal Tournament Medallion, bronze, ‘Portsmouth Division 1921 Tug of War, Sto. Seymour.’; the recipient’s Submariner’s silk scarf; and a particularly large and impressive photograph album detailing his time in Palestine. This includes approximately 200 photographs, including submarines, burned out railway carriages, coastal scenes, images of crew and family, holy shrines, religious personalities and the recipient on and off duty.