Queens South Africa, no bar. Correctly impressed T E Collins Po 1st Cl HMS Monarch; 1914/15 Star, correctly impressed 125533 T E Collins CPO RN; British War Medal, correctly impressed 125533 T E Collins CPO RN; Victory Medal, correctly impressed 125533 T E Collins CPO RN; Queen Victoria Naval Long Service Good Conduct Medal, correctly impressed T E Collins P O Cl1 HMS Excellent, swing mounted as worn; condition VF and better, edge bruises to the LSGC
The group is housed in a homemade wooden case.
| Estimate: | £220 - £260 |
| Hammer price: | £400 |
Sold with original service papers, torpedo and gunnery record and certificate of service. Three copy pictures of the recipient and copies of his birth and marriage certificates are included.
Thomas Edward Collins was born in Maidenhead on the 22nd of December 1867. He joined the Royal Navy on his 18th birthday as a Boy 2nd Class; in civilian life, he worked as a Labourer.
Collins progressed up the ranks quickly; by 1894, he was a Petty Officer 1st Class. While serving on HMS Excellent in 1901, he was awarded the Long Service Good Conduct Medal.
During the Boer War, Collins served on HMS Monarch; interestingly, one of the pictures shows Collins posing with a rifle; the picture looks to have been taken in South Africa.
On the 23rd of December 1905, he was pensioned to shore and joined the Royal Fleet Reserve. Collin served on HMS Victory and HMS Arethusa during World War One.
At the time of the 1939 census, he was living in Kent. He was listed as a 'Naval Ordnance Examiner Retired.'
