Six: Chief Petty Officer G. J. Coleman, Royal Navy

China 1900, no clasp (G. J. Colman [sic], A.B. H.M.S. Marathon.); Africa General Service 1902-56, 1 clasp, Somaliland 1908-10 (161448 G. J. Colman [sic], P.O. 1Cl., H.M.S. Philomel.); 1914-15 Star (161448, G. J. Coleman, P.O., R.N.); British War and Victory Medals (161448 G. J. Coleman. C.P.O.); Italy, Kingdom, Messina Earthquake Medal 1908, silver, unnamed as issued, contact marks, nearly very fine (6) £500-£700

George John Coleman was born in St. Peter Port, Guernsey, on 7 February 1876. A tin worker, Coleman joined the Royal Navy on 4 July 1891, serving initially aboard the drill ship Tricomalee at Southampton Water, before being sent to the training ship St. Vincent at Portsmouth. Transferred to the iron screw corvette Boadicea, Coleman was raised Able Seaman and served during the Boxer Rebellion aboard the cruiser Marathon. Despite a sentence of 42 days’ hard labour for drunkenness, Coleman witnessed promotion to Petty Officer 2nd Class aboard Forte on 22 January 1904. Raised Petty Officer 1st Class, he was present aboard the cruiser Philomel when she was urgently dispatched to Italy on 31 December 1908 with medical staff and supplies for the victims of the massive earthquake at Messina. Three weeks later Philomel went to Africa and was engaged in the blockade of the Somali coast from Aden to Mombassa.

Coleman remained in service during the Great War, spending much of his time aboard the destroyers Archer and Penn. The latter enjoyed an eventful war as part of the screen for the 1st Battle Squadron, charged with protecting the dreadnoughts from enemy submarines. On 19 August 1916, she was despatched to pick up survivors from the light cruiser Nottingham which had been sunk by a torpedo launched by the U-52. A short while later, Penn was engaged in fending off attacks by Zeppelin airships against the fleet. Raised Chief Petty Officer on 1 May 1917, Coleman was shore demobilised on 27 February 1919.