War Medals

EAST & WEST AFRICA MEDAL 1887-1900 : ACTING GUNNER, HMS. 'MAGPIE' : :

Bar, 'Gambia 1894', officially impressed naming in the correct style - Actg. Gunnr. T. HULME, RN., HMS. 'Magpie' : (THOMAS HULME - Born 21 February 1865 at Biddulph, Stafford, joined the Royal Navy at the Training Establishment, HMS. 'Impregnable' as a Boy 2nd.Class on 25 October 1880 : Advanced to Boy 1st.Class from 7 November 1880 and moved to HMS. 'Lion' from 1 July 1881 : He joined HMS. 'Superb' from 19 August 1882 and was present in the ship during the latter part of the Egypt Campaign of 1882, for which he was awarded the Egypt Medal and the Khedive's Bronze Star. Advanced to Ordinary Seaman from 21 February 1883 whilst in HMS.'Superb' and to Able Seaman from 1 June 1884, again serving in 'Superb' : He subsequently served at sea in a number of ships and at the Royal Navy Gunnery Establishment, HMS.'Cambridge', and advanced through the Rates to be Petty-Officer 1st.Class from 1 April 1890 : He was advanced to Acting-Gunner from 23 March 1893 whilst at 'Cambridge' and then served in HMS. 'Wye' from 9 May 1893 before joining HMS. 'Magpie' on 1 June 1893 : He was present in 'Magpie' when the ship took part in the expedition up the Gambia River from 23 February 1894 : By the mid 19th.Century the Atlantic slave trade had virtually disappeared, but that did not mean slavery had ceased altogether. The market within Africa itself for slaves was still huge. Slave trading thus continued to be a very profitable occupation, and the leading Arab traders were very wealthy and powerful men. In The Gambia, on what was known at the time as "The Slave Coast", one of the leading traders was a man called Foday Sillah. Some modern views portray him as a Muslim freedom fighter, but the contemporary British view of him was that he had "always been a source of trouble and had an unsavoury reputation in the Gambia District and on the Sierra Leone coast." Whichever, he was a slave trader, and was not accepting British efforts to control his trade, amassing a force of some three thousand men in order to resist outside interference. So in February 1894 a punitive expedition was launched against him. Three ships of the Royal Navy, HMS. 'Magpie', 'Raleigh' and 'Widgeon' of the West Africa Squadron, under the command of Rear-Admiral Frederick Bedford, provided the majority of the men for the incursion. The force was split into two columns with the aim of destroying a number of stockaded villages and the capture of Foday Sillah's main camp at Birkama. The force experienced some initial success, destroying several villages but as it advanced it came under intense fire from an enemy hidden in the thick bush. Slowed down by the sniping and running low on water the columns were forced to retreat back to a destroyed village and the following day the entire force retreated back to the riverbank, at Madina Creek, where it was to be collected by the ships boats, only to discover that water in the river was too low to allow the boats to gain access. At this moment Foday Sillah attacked and the force found itself under fire from three sides with the river preventing any further retreat and with no cover available. By the time the boats were able to come in to effect a rescue, three Officers and fifteen men had been killed with a further forty-six men wounded. The recipient continued to serve and was advanced to the rank of Gunner from 23 March 1894, but on 5 July 1901 whilst serving in HMS.'Diana' he was tried by Court Martial and "sentenced to forfeit one years seniority and to be dismissed his ship".) : Medal rolls indicate that replacement Egypt and East & West Africa medals were issued to the recipient on 5 February 1912, however the naming on the medal offered here appears to be correct in every detail for a medal issued in 1894. The recipient's name is not shown among those known to have been issued a duplicate medal as recorded in 'British Battles & Medals'. Sold with verification, copy both Ratings and Officers Service Records and other related research : Scarce, only forty-one medals awarded to HMS.'Magpie' with the bar for 'Gambia 1894' : EF - £495