Orders, Decorations and Medals

Five: Shipwright Lieutenant C. Quinton, Royal Navy

Africa General Service 1902-56, 1 clasp, Somaliland 1908-10 (Carp., R.N., H.M.S. Philomel); Naval General Service 1915-62, 1 clasp, Persian Gulf 1909-1914 (Carpr., R.N., H.M.S. Philomel); 1914-15 Star (Wt. Shpt., R.N.); British War and Victory Medals (Cd. Shpt., R.N.), mounted for wear, good very fine and better (5) £240-280

Charles Quinton was born on 19 November 1871 and was appointed a Carpenter in the Royal Navy on 1 June 1903. His first posting was to the cruiser Iphigenia serving on the China Station, 1904-06, thence the battleship Thunderer, 1906-08 and cruiser Hawke, 1908-09. He then served on the cruiser Philomel on the East Indies Station, 27 July 1909-3 October 1911 in support of the operations against the ‘Mad Mullah’ in Somaliland and in patrols against gun-runners and pirates in the Persian Gulf, earing campaign medals for both operations. At the outbreak of war he was serving on the pre-dreadnaught battleship Albion as a Warrant Shipwright, having arrived from the Vindictive in May 1914 with a recommendation from his previous Captain. The Albion was initially used a guard ship at Gibraltar, then used to support cruisers off the Canary Islands and then, in October 1914, was transferred to the Cape Station and used in operations against German South West Africa until January 1915. In common with several other pre-dreadnaughts, she was then transferred to the Dardanelles to support the proposed landings on the Gallipoli Peninsula. Albion’s first action was on 20 February when she bombarded the outer forts, followed by the action on 26 February when she was involved in the close range shelling of the inner forts. Her next operation was the Attack on the Narrows on 18 March in which a large number of British and French capital ships participated. Albion next provided support for the landings at Helles on 25 April, with further bombardments on 28 April and 2 May. The last major role for the Albion was on 22/23 May involving the bombardment of Turkish trenches. On 23 May the operation went terribly wrong when the ship ran aground at 4.00am on a sandbank at Gaba Tepe. Despite the best efforts of the Canopus it was not until six hours later that the third tow from the Canopus held and Albion was hauled off the sandbank to safety. Since daylight thew ship had been the target of Turkish guns, being hit over 100 times. As might be expected in these circumstances, Quinton was especially busy with the damage control parties. The damaged Albion headed for Malta for a refit. Quinton’s service record gives the Captain’s report on his actions during the Gallipoli operations as ‘Satisfactory conduct in action in the Dardanelles’. Quinton remained with the Albion for the remainder of the war, serving in the Eastern Mediterranean transporting troops to Salonika, then serving as a guard ship in home waters from 1916 until paid off in October 1916. Quinton retired as a Lieutenant Shipwright on 2 June 1922. Sold with copied service paper, extracts from the Albion’s log and reproduced photographs of the Philomel and Albion.