Orders, Decorations and Medals

Three: Deck Hand A. H. Link, Royal Naval Reserve and Merchant Navy, who survived the sinking of the fishing vessel Albert, May 1916

British War and Victory Medals (22158D.A. D.H., R.N.R.); Mercantile Marine War Medal 1914-18 (Albert H. Link) minor edge bruising, nearly very fine (3) £60-80

Albert Henry Link was born in Tunbridge Wells, Kent on 22 March 1899, the son of George and Florence Link. In 1916 Link was the Third Hand aboard the Ramsgate fishing vessel Albert. The ship operating out of Lowestoft was fishing in the North Sea. On 2 May 1916 (?) it was homeward bound with a good catch when it was stopped by the German submarine U.11. The Skipper and Owner, Mr S. Down; Mate F. Alexander; Third Hand Albert Link and Cook Leonard Smith were allowed five minutes to take to their boat and clear out. The Germans then boarded the ship, commandeered food, fish and gear, before placing two bombs on board to sink the vessel. Generously, the submarine then towed the ship’s boat and crew of four for nearly nine hours before casting it adrift within reach of the neutral Dutch coast. Picked up by the Dutch ship Atlas, they were then taken to Flushing and thence repatriated. The lot is sold with two copied newspaper reports of the incident - one of which speaks scathingly of the Germans being ‘Hun pirates’, though begrudgingly it did say of the U-Boat captain ‘The Commander, however did not seem to be a bad sort. He regretted the necessity of having to sink the Alfred and offered to tow the crew.’

Thanks to the humanity of the German captain, Link survived to fish another day and in 1918 he joined the R.N.R., being demobilized in 1920. With copied research - including photocopied photographs.