Pair: Captain W. F. Hains, Royal Navy

Baltic 1854-55, unnamed as issued; China 1857-60, no clasp, unnamed as issued, very fine (2) £350-400

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, The Collection of Medals formed by the late Tim Ash.

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Sold with a contemporary hand-coloured portrait photograph of Captain Hains wearing his two medals, and two parchment commission documents as Staff Commander and Staff Captain.

William Furze Hains was born on 17 April 1818 and joined the Royal Navy as a Second Master on 15 February 1842. He served as Master of H.M.S. Alban in the Baltic campaign of 1854, and as Master of H.M.S. Retribution in China in 1857-60. In the latter vessel he accompanied Lord Elgin’s Mission to Japan in 1858 and subsequently on the journey of exploration up the Yangtse Kiang River. He was promoted to Staff Commander on 3 October 1865, and to Staff Captain on 19 May 1870. Captain Hains died in Athens, Greece, on 9 May 1890.

Together with a comprehensive file of research.