Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Seven: Chief Petty Officer G. Cheater, Royal Navy, who was commended for his services in an action against Afghan gun-runners at Bunji in the Persian Gulf in April 1908

Royal Victorian Medal, E.VII.R., bronze, privately engraved, ‘G. Cheater, P.O. 1, H.M.S. Excellent, May 1910’; Africa General Service 1902-56, 1 clasp, Somaliland 1908-10 (182556 P.O. 1 Cl., H.M.S. Proserpine); 1914-15 Star (182556 P.O. 1, R.N.); British War and Victory Medals (182556 Act. C.P.O., R.N.); Defence Medal; Royal Navy L.S. & G.C., G.V.R., 1st issue (182556 P.O., H.M.S. Zealandia), together with Army Council forwarding slip and addressed card box of issue for the Defence Medal, the first somewhat polished, otherwise very fine or better (7) £500-600

George Cheater was born at Christchurch, Hampshire in March 1879 and entered the Royal Navy as a Boy 2nd Class in January 1895. Rapid promotion followed and in January 1907 he was appointed a Petty Officer 1st Class while serving in the cruiser H.M.S. Proserpine, in which ship he remained until September 1908, thereby participating in the Somaliland operations.

In addition, during the same period, he saw action in the Persian Gulf, and, as noted on his service record, he was ‘commended for services in the action between the boats’ crew of Prosperpine and a party of Afghans which took place at Bunji on 20 April 1908’. A more detailed account of the action is to be found in The Times:

‘Mail advices received at Portsmouth on saturday from the cruiser Proserpine give details of an engagement which the vessel had in the Persian Gulf with gun-runners whom the writer describes as Afghans. During the encounter one bluejacket was mortally and another dangerously wounded, and the officer in charge had a narrow escape ... During ther night she [Proserpine] kept her guns and searchlights trained on the shore, besides landing marines armed with maxims. Further dhows being expected to land at Bunji with guns and ammunition, and two suspicious craft being sighted, the Proserpine despatched a steamboat, cutter and whaler, under First Lieutenant Baillie-Hamilton, to examine them. The water was very shallow and two of the boats grounded, and as the crew began to wade ashore fire was opened upon them from the beach. A perfect hail of bullets, says the letter, were fired upon the party by the enemy from under the shelter of sand hills and palm trees along the half mile front. The Lieutenant gave the order to return to the boats, and as the men were wading back one bluejacket was hit and fell, but was dragged along in the water by another man to the whaler, and the party proceeded to make their way back, keeping as much under cover of the boats as possible.

Meanwhile, the cutter and the steamboat had been returning the enemy’s fire, but the maxim jammed after firing 25 rounds and became useless. The critical nature of the position, however, had been observed from the deck of the Proserpine, which, after signalling to recall the boats, opened fire on the concealed Afghans with her 4in. guns and three-pounders, making good practice, as the shells could be seen bursting on the beach and among the trees. The enemy continued to fire for a period, some rifle shots actually reaching the ship at a range of over a mile and doing slight damage, but causing no casualties. The boat parties were still in some peril and the coxswain of the whaler was hit when getting into the boat, and a bullet grazed the Lieutenant’s arm, but fortunately only bruised it. Several of the men are stated to have had marvellous escapes, and, had the Afghans been better masters of their weapons, the writer of the letter thought the casualty list on the British side would undoubtedly have been greater. King, the whaler’s coxswain, was shot through the lungs with a large bullet, and he died about an hour later. The other man hit was shot in the lower part of the back when making for the whaler, and on the date when the letter was despatched, April 21, his case was deemed hopeless.’

Awarded his R.V.M. in June 1910 as a member of Excellent’s contingent at King Edward VII’s funeral, and his L.S. & G.C. Medal in April 1912, while serving in the Zealandia, Cheater remained employed in the same cruiser until September 1917, thereby witnessing active service in the Dardanelles 1915-16. His final wartime appointment was back at Excellent, where he was advanced to Chief Petty Officer, and he was demobilised in October 1919.