The Douglas-Morris Collection of Naval Medals

Egypt and Sudan 1882-89, undated reverse, 2 clasps, The Nile 1884-85, Abu Klea (F. G. Nye, A.B.) extremely fine and a rare casualty

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, The Douglas-Morris Collection of Naval Medals.

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The action at Abu Klea on 17 January 1888 lasted but a little over ten minutes, a period of total confusion. The small Naval Brigade, totalling just 40 men under Lord Charles Beresford, with its Gardner machine gun, was posted inside the square, at one corner behind the Heavies (4th & 5th Dragoon Guards, Scots Greys and Royal Dragoons) when the action commenced. Beresford quite naturally wanted to get his Gardner gun out into the open, beyond the square as obviously it could not be brought into action from the inside. On orders from Colonel Burnaby, numbers 3 and 4 companies of the Heavies were to open up and let the machine gun through. This manoeuvre, which may sound simple, in fact involved the movement of some 200 men and took place at the moment when the initial shock-wave of dervishes hit these two companies of dismounted cavalrymen. The Gardner, as was its wont, jammed almost immediately and all its crew, except Beresford, were killed. Able Seaman Frederick Nye was himself killed, although it is not known if he was a member of the gun’s crew. The Naval Brigade had in total eight killed and seven wounded at Abu Klea.

Born in Islington, Middlesex, on 1 February 1860, Frederick Nye first entered as a Boy 2nd Class aboard H.M.S. FISGARD on 10 August 1875. He subsequently served abaord H.M. Ships IMPREGNABLE (1875-77) where he was advanced to Boy 1st Class during August 1876, RUBY (1877-80) where he was made an Ord in February 1878, and advanced to Able Seaman whilst in Naval Barracks during January 1881, ALEXANDRA (1883-84) and finally borne on the books of MONARCH for the Nile Flotilla. He was killed at the battle of Abu Klea on 17 January 1885.