Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Africa General Service 1902-56, 1 clasp, Aro 1901-1902 (196751 A.B. W. Beddard. H.M.S. Thrush.) light contact marks, otherwise very fine and rare £400-£500

Provenance: Spink N.C., February 1989.

Only 46 clasps for ‘Aro 1901-1902’ issued to the Royal Navy, all to the screw-gunboat Thrush.

William Beddard (alias Johnson) was born at Sculcoates, York, on 23 August 1882, and joined the Royal Navy as a Boy 2nd Class on 27 November 1897, O.N. 196751. His record of service names him as ‘Beddard alias Johnson’. He served aboard Thrush, successively as Boy 1st Class, Ordinary Seaman and Able Seaman, from December 1899 to May 1903, seeing service at the Cape of Good Hope (entitled to Q.S.A. without clasp, for which he also received a duplicate medal) and with the Aro Expeditionary Force. He died on 10 March 1905, on board H.M.S. Triumph whilst at sea from ‘absess of liver’. Sold with copied record of service and medal roll extracts.