A Great War Naval M.S.M. group of three awarded to Chief Motor Mechanic J. J. Kearns, Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve

British War and Victory Medals (M.B. 543 J. J. Kearns, C.M.M., R.N.V.R.); Royal Navy Meritorious Service Medal, G.V.R. (M.B. 543 J. J. Kearns, C.M.M., R.N.V.R., M.L. 557, Zeebrugge Station), contact marks, generally very fine (3) £300-350

John James Kearns, who was born in January 1884, entered the “Wavy Navy” in September 1915, aboard the depot ship Resource. Having then served at the training establishment Victory II from October 1915 to July 1916, he removed to the guard ship Hermione for a few weeks. Then in November 1916, he joined the Auxiliary Patrol depot ship Dreel Castle in Plymouth, in which capacity he remained employed until removing to the Portsmouth base Victory X in July 1917.

Here, then, the commencement of a succession of known Motor Launch appointments, among them M.L. 52 (October 1917 - January 1918), M.L. 557 (January - April 1918), and M.L. 287 (April 1918 - March 1919). Awarded his M.S.M. while employed as a Chief Motor Mechanic in M.L. 557 on the Zeebrugge Station (London Gazette 11 November 1919) - which boat was allocated to the special service vessel Lingfield during the famous Zeebrugge raid - he was demobilised in December 1919; sold with copied research.