Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

An extremely rare Baltic 1855 operations C.B. group of four awarded to Colonel J. M. Wemyss, Royal Marine Artillery, whose innovative command of the R.M.A’s mortars at the bombardment of Sveaborg achieved spectacular results: ‘In the thirty daylight hours, during which the bombardment continued, the guns and mortars discharged on either side averaged between 20 or 30 a minute, which will convey some idea of the furious nature of the engagement’

The Most Honourable Order of The Bath, C.B. (Military) Companion’s breast badge, gold and enamels, hallmarks for London 1843, with narrow gold swivel-bar suspension and riband buckle; Naval General Service 1793-1840, 1 clasp, Syria (Lieut., R.M.A.); Baltic 1854-55, unnamed as issued; St. Jean d’Acre 1840, silver, unnamed as issued, fitted with straight-bar suspension, the last three with old silver riband brooches for wearing, the first with slightly chipped central wreaths, one or two edge bruises and minor contact wear, otherwise generally good very fine (4) £4000-5000

C.B. London Gazette 2 January 1856.

John Maurice Wemyss was appointed a 2nd Lieutenant in the Royal Marine Artillery in December 1837. He subsequently distinguished himself in the Syria operations of 1840, being mentioned in the despatch of Captain Austin, R.N. of H.M.S. Cyclops. In his own words - taken from his statement of services - Wemyss describes his part in the campaign thus:

‘On 10 September 1840, I landed with the Anglo-Turkish force at D’Jouni Bay on the coast of Syria and remained nine days in the field citadel constructed there. On the 19 September 1840, I re-embarked in the Cyclops, which vessel was much employed in distributing arms, stopping convoys and firing on the enemy whenever they appeared on the coast. On 26 September 1840, I landed with the Turkish force under the orders of Captain Austin, commanding H.M.S. Cyclops, for the purpose of carrying by assault the town of Sidon, and on this occasion was favourably spoken of by that officer for having turned one of the enemy’s guns (mounted in an outwork) on the Egyptian soldiers defending the town, thereby facilitating the disembarkation of the Turkish troops. This piece of service is adverted to in my certificate from the Cyclops. During the remainder of my time in the Cyclops, I served in various ports of the Mediterranean, chiefly at Alexandria, with a sketch of the defences of which I furnished Captain Austin for the information of their Lordships.’

Advanced to 1st Lieutenant in October 1841, and to Captain in October 1851, Wemyss spent most of the intervening period as a Gunnery Examining Officer back in the U.K., but in 1855 he arrived in the Baltic aboard the Orion, and, as the C.O. of the R.M.A’s mortar detachments at the bombardment of Sveaborg on 9 August 1855, distinguished himself sufficiently to be given the Brevet of Major and awarded the C.B., the latter a rare distinction indeed for a Captain of Marines. Of this fact Wemyss’ senior stated:

‘This is the first instance in the Naval service of the C.B. being given for service as a Captain of Marines, but in his case most justly given, as he had an important command and by his throwing away old ideas and pouring in more rapid mortar fire in the first hours than ever had been thought of before, he greatly contributed to the success, as we got up rapidly such a body of fire that it could not be put out.’


While in his Sveaborg despatch, Admiral R. S. Dundas, C.B., noted:

‘The direction of this service (mortar boats) was confided to Captain J. H. Wemyss of the Royal Marine Artillery, assisted by Captain Lawrence, and Captain Schomberg, and every exertion was used by these officers to press the fire of the mortars to the fullest extent, which could be deemed proper.
My especial thanks are due to the Officers and men of the Royal Marine Artillery for the manner in which their important duties have been performed. The cool and steady manner with which they continued to conduct the duties of their staticas deserves the highest praise, and I have much pleasure in calling their Lordships attention to the services of Captain Wemyss, as well as those of Captains Lawrence and Schomberg of that distinguished Corps.’

An indication of the rate of fire of the R.M.A. detachments may be gleaned from the simple statistic that the 15 British mortar vessels expended 3100 shells (equivalent to 1000 tons of iron), hot work that resulted in three of the mortars bursting. Wemyss later wrote:
‘If it is unpleasant to stand over a bursting shell, how much more so was it to have to serve a mortar which is likely to burst the next round. I think our men in the Baltic behaved splendidly in making no difficulty when three mortars had burst and the remainder were so unsound ... I had in the Baltic not only to organize a new service with a long forgotten weapon, and answer for its effects in action being destructive at a great distance, but also I had to depart from the old custom of firing slow.’

Finally, for the purposes of illustrating the devastating effect the R.M.A’s mortars had upon the enemy, the following eye-witness observations are not without interest:
‘By 7 o’clock all was ready for the opening of the bombardment, and at 7.30 Captain Wemyss gave the signal by firing a shell from the Pickle. As every mortar was loaded, the response was immediate and terrific. With a silmultaneous roar about five and twenty huge shells sped away, and mounting up, until over Vargon and Gustafsvard, thundered straight down upon them with destructive effect.
Of the opening salvo, one or two exploded short or went over among the shipping in the harbour, but the majority crashed down where intended, right over the magazines, and, on bursting, threw up columns of white smoke, mingled with dark earth and rubbish. At the same moment as the mortars, the gunboats also opened a very heavy fire on the forts of shot and shell from their 68-pounders. The Russian reply was immediate and appalling; as if by magic the smoke of heavy guns issued from every nook and post, high and low, all over the islands, from hundreds of cannon and mortars; a perfect storm of shot, hot and cold, and shell at all angles of cross fire, came towards us, hissing, splashing, ricochetting in every direction. If that awful shower of missiles had reached us with effect, we should, indeed, have been in a bad way! Fortunately, it did us no practical harm, but some of the gunboats had narrow escapes ... Shortly after 9 o’clock it was becoming very evident our shell fire was having a terrible effect, especially on Vargon, from which, as the barracks, stores, and various buildings caught fire in detail, dense columns of smoke began to arise. The magazines also were becoming denuded of the earth masses atop through the explosion of our embedded shells. Altogether the fire was constant and relentless; while the Russians was fitful and almost ineffective. At 10.30 our shells reached a magazine, and a prodigious cloud of white smoke arose over Vargon; from which emerged dark masses of stones, guns, and even men’s bodies. It was followed by a noise like thunder, and a heavy concussion as of an earthquake. When the smoke cleared away, one of the great forts was disclosed a ruin, at which our men manned the rigging and cheered. The tremendous nature of the explosion so frightened the sight-seers, especially the ladies at Helsingfors, that they scuttled off in every direction ... great shouts and commotion overhead caused a simultaneous rush on deck, to witness a spectacle on Vargon and Gustafsvard which altogether baffled description, and before which all stood for a time appalled. Grant, in British Battles, compared the scene to ‘the eruption of a volcano,’ and called it a ‘veritable pandemonium,’ which in truth it was. Magazine after magazine, in succession, was exploding with a violence which shook both sea and land for a great distance around. Huge masses of stones, guns, shot and shell, and human bodies were hurled in the air, to descend in a mingled shower. As Grant says, ‘Had the isle been torn from its granite base in the sea the roar of that explosion could not have been more terrific and astounding’; so appalling was it that everyone’s attention was for a time rivetted, and the firing on both sides ceased for a few minutes; but this lull was succeeded by such tremendous cheering as must have been almost audible ashore, and the renewal of our fire with increased and incomparable vigour; while the Russians, as well they might, seemed paralysed ... In the evening a final explosion took place on Svarto (west), which set the whole island ablaze, so that by midnight it was a perfect sheet of flame. The bombardment after 9 p.m. gradually subsided, and the last shell was fired at about 3 a.m. on Saturday the 11th, the attack having thus continued without cessation for forty-eight hours ...’

Wemyss died in service, at Portsmouth, in March 1863, having been advanced to Colonel in June of the previous year.