Watch List notes:

Group of Four: British War Medal 1914-18; Mercantile Marine War Medal 1914-18; 1939-45 Star; War Medal 1939-45. Essex J. Mardon on first two medals, last two medals unnamed. The named medals impressed. Swing mounted, extremely fine.

Essex James Mardon, sailor, born 14Dec1888 at Brixham, England; awarded Certificate of Competency as Second Mate 26Nov1909; awarded Certificate of Competency as First Mate 15Sep1911; after WWI qualified as a Ship's Pilot and worked for Trinity House; copies of newspaper articles included with lot show him as Captain and Trinity Pilot and also record him as one of the reception officers for the arrival of all yachts at Brixham during the Coronation International Regatta in 1937 and also rescuing a drifting seaplane at Torbay in 1947; Captain Essex Mardon died 27Jul1972 in Hammersmith Hospital, London.

During WWI some of the functions of the Corporation were to buoy shipping lanes and naval operations, move light vessels as well as laying hundreds of other buoys. Then during WW2 Trinity House, for which Captain Essex Mardon was a Pilot, kept sea lanes marked and lighted for Allied convoys as well as guiding ships to their ports under hazardous conditions and during the Dunkirk evacuation a number of pilots helped in guiding vessels to and from the beaches. Then in preparation for the D-Day landings Trinity House pilots laid lighted buoys and two light vessels to indicate a safe route for landing vessels. In the month following D-Day nearly 3,000 vessels were handled by 88 river pilots and close to 2,000 ships were guided by 115 sea pilots.

With research.