Baldwin & Sons
Auction 75 26 September 2012
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MILITARY MEDALS. Campaign Singles. ARCTIC MEDAL, 1876 (A. J. W. Norris. Car: Crew. H.M.S. Alert.); officially engraved in upright capitals. Attractively toned, a few light marks in places, otherwise nearly extremely fine and rare.
ex Sothebys, 21 March 1979, lot 151
Arthur Joseph William Norris, of St Helliers, Jersey, was born c.1846, and is confirmed as having served aboard HMS Alert as Carpenter's Crew during the Arctic Expedition of 1875. Enlisting for service with the Royal Navy 12 September 1870, he served aboard HMS Alert during this expedition, which also included HMS Discovery, coming aboard on the former vessel 23 May 1875.
The Arctic Expedition of 1875-1876, led by the intrepid navigator Sir George Strong Nares, was sent by the Admiralty with the principal aim of reaching the North Pole, travelling via the Smith Sound (between Greenland and Ellesmere Island). The ships battled through heavy sea ice during their voyages and the crews (particularly of HMS Alert) were ravaged by scurvy as they each passed an Arctic winter caught in the pack ice in separate locations. From their base at Floeberg Beach, the crew of HMS Alert launched ambitious sledging expeditions with the aim of seeing how far the Greenland land mass extended north, to see if they could reach the North Pole, as well as taking the opportunity of mapping the coast lines. Both expeditions resulted in near disaster, in which the teams suffered heavily from further scurvy and required relief parties for their rescue. In light of the state of his returning men, Nares saw to it that the Expedition should return home rather than face another Arctic winter, from which they might not in fact return. Escaping the pack ice in a storm in August 1876, they returned to England. Despite having failed to reach the North Pole, the expedition succeeded in returning with a large amount of scientific and cartographic information, and HMS Alert had in fact sailed further north than any other vessel on record at the time.
Serving on numerous vessels in his career, Arthur Norris was present in port aboard HMS Asia at the time of the 1881 Census (from which we derive the above biographical information), and was later promoted to Carpenter's Mate in early 1884. He was discharged from further service 14 September 1890, after a career of 20 years with the Royal Navy. He was sent his medal 26 May 1877. He is shown on the 1891 and 1901 Censuses as living in Portsmouth as a Seaman Pensioner, and interestingly, his son Arthur J F Norris is shown as Able Seaman, RN. Genealogical research appears to show that the recipient of this medal, A J W Norris, died in 1911 at Portsmouth.
A total of 155 medals were awarded for the Expeditions of 1875-1876, 62 to HM Ships Alert, 60 to Discovery, and 33 to Pandora. Sold with copy service papers, and other useful research.
Estimate: £2200-2800
ex Sothebys, 21 March 1979, lot 151
Arthur Joseph William Norris, of St Helliers, Jersey, was born c.1846, and is confirmed as having served aboard HMS Alert as Carpenter's Crew during the Arctic Expedition of 1875. Enlisting for service with the Royal Navy 12 September 1870, he served aboard HMS Alert during this expedition, which also included HMS Discovery, coming aboard on the former vessel 23 May 1875.
The Arctic Expedition of 1875-1876, led by the intrepid navigator Sir George Strong Nares, was sent by the Admiralty with the principal aim of reaching the North Pole, travelling via the Smith Sound (between Greenland and Ellesmere Island). The ships battled through heavy sea ice during their voyages and the crews (particularly of HMS Alert) were ravaged by scurvy as they each passed an Arctic winter caught in the pack ice in separate locations. From their base at Floeberg Beach, the crew of HMS Alert launched ambitious sledging expeditions with the aim of seeing how far the Greenland land mass extended north, to see if they could reach the North Pole, as well as taking the opportunity of mapping the coast lines. Both expeditions resulted in near disaster, in which the teams suffered heavily from further scurvy and required relief parties for their rescue. In light of the state of his returning men, Nares saw to it that the Expedition should return home rather than face another Arctic winter, from which they might not in fact return. Escaping the pack ice in a storm in August 1876, they returned to England. Despite having failed to reach the North Pole, the expedition succeeded in returning with a large amount of scientific and cartographic information, and HMS Alert had in fact sailed further north than any other vessel on record at the time.
Serving on numerous vessels in his career, Arthur Norris was present in port aboard HMS Asia at the time of the 1881 Census (from which we derive the above biographical information), and was later promoted to Carpenter's Mate in early 1884. He was discharged from further service 14 September 1890, after a career of 20 years with the Royal Navy. He was sent his medal 26 May 1877. He is shown on the 1891 and 1901 Censuses as living in Portsmouth as a Seaman Pensioner, and interestingly, his son Arthur J F Norris is shown as Able Seaman, RN. Genealogical research appears to show that the recipient of this medal, A J W Norris, died in 1911 at Portsmouth.
A total of 155 medals were awarded for the Expeditions of 1875-1876, 62 to HM Ships Alert, 60 to Discovery, and 33 to Pandora. Sold with copy service papers, and other useful research.
Estimate: £2200-2800