Halford & Co. to Admiralty (August 27, 1846),
in: Medal Rolls. List of Claims for Medals for Service in Syria and China,
in: National Archives, Kew, London (UK), ADM 171/7
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[stamp]
<…>
AUG 29 3416.
1846
<…>
Capt. J.P. Blake¹ Larne
9 Mar 1837 to 9 July 1842
Comm. Harry Eyres Modeste
21 Nov 1837 to 31 Oct 1841
- “ - G H Seymour Wanderer
12 Mar 1842 to 27 June 1844
- “ - Chas Frederick Apollo
17 <Nov> 1841 to 10 Sept 1843
Lieut. Jn Daly Pelican & Blonde
1 July 1841 to 9 <Nov> 1843
- “ - H Schomberg Melville
20 June 1836 to 21 Aug 1841
- “ - R D Fowler Melville
1 Sept 1837 to 21 Aug 1841
- “ - Jn. Hay Pylades
4 Jany 1840 to 17 Aug 1841
- “ - Graham Gore Volage & Beagle⁴
28 Jany 1838 to 14 Oct 1843
- “ - Hon M Kerr Wellesley
29 Apr 1838 to 15 May 1841
- “ - G C Fowler Alligator, <Melville>
& Wellesley
23 June 1840 to 1 Oct <1843>
- “ - G <T.> M Purvis <Cambrian>
18 Oct 1841 to 1 Oct 1842
Mate F J Diggens, Larne
- “ - Jn Daly, Calliope
- “ - <I N T> Saulez Plyades
- “ - Hy A Norman Blenheim
Mids. Rich Purvis Blonde
<ass> Surg. Jn D. <Tweeddale>
Pylades
16 Dec 1839 to <13> Oct <1842> [curly brace]
<To> the Accountant General
of Her Majesty’s Navy [curly brace]
247
41 Norfolk St Strand
27th. Aug 1846
Sir
In the <margin>
<hereof> we beg to <leave> you
a List of our Clients
who served during the
operations in China,² and
have to request that the
Medals³ now in <course>
of distribution may be
delivered to us as their
Agents holding this Power
of attorney
We have the honor to be
Sir
Your most Obedient
humble Servants
Halford&Co⁵
-
Brackets
[] = context, format
<> = uncertain
<…> = illegible
Ranks & Titles
Capt. = Captain
Comm. = Commander
Lieut. = Lieutenant
Mids. = Midshipman
ass Surg. = Assistant Surgeon
Hon = Honorable
Names
Chas = Charles
Jn = John
Rich = Richard
Months
Jany = January
Mar = March
Apr = April
Aug = August
Sept = September
Oct = October
Nov = November
Dec = December
Terms
Co. = Company
HMS = Her Majesty's Ship
Messrs. = Misters
-
¹ The other men mentioned are: Patrick John Blake (here as John Patrick), Harry Eyres, George Henry Seymour, Charles Frederick, John Daly (listed twice), Herbert Schomberg, Robert Dashwood Fowler, John Hay, Honorable Mark Kerr, George Campbell Fowler, George Thomas Maitland Purvis, Francis John Diggens, Isaac Newton Thomas Saulez, Henry Anne Norman, Richard Purvis, and John Dunbar Tweeddale.
² First Opium War (1839-42), also referred to as China Expedition in contemporary accounts.
³ China (War) Medal, established in 1846 to decorate all participants of the First Opium War.
Whether the medal was ever awared to Gore is not known, since HMS Volage is omitted from the official medal roll entirely (despite seeing action in the war) and no reply of the Admirality to the above request could be found at the time of this publication.⁴ On board of HMS Volage Gore participated in the Battles of Kowloon (September 4, 1839) and Chuenpi (November 3, 1839).
HMS Beagle did not see action during the First Opium War, instead surveying the coastline of the Colony of New South Wales / Australia. Thus, it is unclear why the commission is mentioned here in the first place.⁵ Halford Messrs. & Co. was a “navy and prize [agency] for officers of the [British] Royal Navy” (Navy List (September 1846), p. 182) situated at 41 Norfolk Street, Strand, London (UK).
It was not unheard of that an agency would forward their client’s request for a medal to the Admirality, especially in the person’s absence. At the time the above letter was written Gore had already left port aboard HMS Erebus. -
Note 1
Note 2
Lovell, Julia (2011): The Opium War. Drugs, Dreams and the Making of China. London (UK), Picador
Note 3
Note 4
Stokes, John Lort (1846): Discoveries in Australia. With an Account of the Coast and Rivers. Explored and Survey during the Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle, in the Years 1837-38-39-40-41-42-43 (vol. 1 / vol. 2). London (UK), T. and W. Boone (via Archive.org, accessed on April 7, 2025)
Note 5
Navy List (September 1846). London (UK), John Murray (via Archive.org, accessed on April 7, 2025)
Navy List (June 1854). London (UK), John Murray (via Archive.org, accessed on April 7, 2025)
Harry Goodsir to Jane Ross Goodsir (May 19, 1845), in: Potter, Russell et al. (2023, ed.): May We Be Spared to Meet on Earth. Letters of the Lost Franklin Arctic Expedition. London (UK) et al. McGill-Queen’s University Press