1914-15 Star (Gnr. W. E. King, R.N.) nearly extremely fine £50-70

Gunner William Edward King died on 26.11.1914 when serving aboard the battleship, H.M.S. Bulwark. His name is commemorated on the Portsmouth Naval Memorial.

The pre-Dreadnaught battleship Bulwark, 15,000 tons, built at Devonport Dockyards and launched in 1902, formed part of the 5th Battle Squadron of the Channel Fleet in the opening months of the Great War. On 26.11.1914 when the ship was engaged in taking ammunition on board at Sheerness, Kent, the ship exploded killing all but 12 of the ship’s 750 officers and men. The cause of the explosion, whether by accident or enemy action, could not be ascertained at the time but was likely due to the unstable nature of the ammunition explosives then in use.