The John Chidzey Collection

A fine Great War Battle of Jutland C.G.M. group of five awarded to Leading Seaman J. S. Watson, Royal Navy, a veteran of the Royal Naval Division who was decorated for his gallant deeds in the severely damaged battleship Malaya

Conspicuous Gallantry Medal, G.V.R. (178876 J. S. Watson, Lg. Sea., H.M.S. Malaya, 31 May-1 June 1916); 1914 Star, with clasp (1788776 J. S. Watson, Lg. Sea., Drake Bttn., R.N.D.); British War and Victory Medals (178876 J. S. Watson, L.S., R.N.); France, Croix de Guerre 1914-1917, with bronze palm, the first with minor official corrections to number and ‘1916’, generally very fine or better (5) £9000-12000

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, The John Chidzey Collection.

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C.G.M. London Gazette 15 September 1916:

‘When a shell exploded in the Starboard battery of the ship in which Petty Officer Day and Leading Seaman Watson were serving, a considerable blast of flame and smoke caused a quantity of smouldering debris to fall among a hoist of cartridges in bags. Petty Officer Day showed great coolness and presence of mind in immediately jumping amongst the cartridges and removing the debris. In doing this he was assisted by Leading Seaman Watson, these two dealing with this dangerous situation promptly.’

French Croix de Guerre London Gazette 19 December 1917.

John Simpson Watson was born in Largo, Fife in April 1878 and entered the Royal Navy as a Boy 2nd Class in March 1894. Coming ashore as a Leading Seaman on completion of his 12 year engagement in June 1905, he enrolled in the Royal Fleet Reserve, in addition to joining the Edinburgh Fire Brigade.

Recalled on the outbreak of hostilities in August 1914, Watson joined Drake Battalion of the Royal Naval Division in the following month, and quickly witnessed active service in the Antwerp operations. Assorted U.K. shore appointments having followed, he returned to regular seagoing duties with an appointment in the Malaya in January 1916, which battleship, as part of 5th Battle Squadron under Vice-Admiral Beatty, was present at Jutland. Heavily engaged against Scheer’s battleships, alongside her consort Warspite, in what became known as the ‘run to north’, Malaya received seven direct hits from large projectiles and suffered 67 killed and 33 wounded. A glimpse of the damage sustained by Malaya is to be found in the account of one of her Midshipmen, as published in The Fighting at Jutland:

‘After having a look at the damage done to ‘X’ turret, I went forward, and was surprised to see a large shell hole in the upper deck near the starboard No. 3 6-inch gun. The lower boom stanchion was buckled out of all recognition, and the bread store was a twisted heap of wreckage. I went down to the battery, where everything was dark chaos. Most of the wounded had been taken away, but several of the killed were still there. The most ghastly part of the whole affair was the smell of burnt human flesh, which remained in the ship for weeks, making everybody have a sickly nauseous feeling the whole time. When the battery was finally lighted by an emergency circuit, it was a scene which cannot easily be forgotten - everything was burnt black and bare from the fire; the galley, canteen and drying-room bulkheads blown and twisted into the most grotesque shapes, and the whole deck covered by about six inches of water and dreadful debris; and permeating everywhere the awful stench of cordite fumes and of war. It is hardly surprising that the nerves of many of us were shaken, especially as the men below decks and in other stations away from the actual damage had never dreamt that we had suffered such damage and casualties ... That evening we buried some of the dead. There was not a soul without a lump in his throat, and quite a lot of the officers and men standing on the upper deck were very near tears. I noticed the same thing when the dockyard maties working on board H.M.S. Erin cheered us on entering Invergordon ... ’

Watson remained actively employed in the Malaya until August 1917, but forfeited any chance of a L.S. & G.C. Medal when dis-rated to Able Seaman in April of the same year. A brief appointment having followed in the minesweeper Haldon, he ended the War ashore at Portsmouth and was demobilised in November 1918 ‘for duty as a Junior Officer in a Fleet Auxiliary Vessel’ (his service record refers). And, as verified by a copied obituary notice, he later qualified as a Master Mariner.

In September 1944, Watson entered the Scottish Naval, Military and Air Force Veterans’ home, Whiteford House, in Edinburgh, where he died after a bad fall on 23 February 1945, aged 66 years; sold with original photographic postcard family portrait.