The Douglas-Morris Collection of Naval Medals

Royal Navy Meritorious Service Medal, G.V.R., Admiral’s bust (J9157 A. F. Reeve, A.B. “Gentian” Baltic 15 July 1919) good very fine

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

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London Gazette 22January 1920 ‘Honours for services in Russia 1919.’

HMS GENTIAN, a sloop of 1,250 tons, was sunk by a mine in the Gulf of Finland on 15 July 1919, in company with the sloop MYRTLE which also struck a mine and sank. The vessels were operating against the Russian Bolshevik forces at the time. They were sister ships and each carried an official complement of 93. The inclusion on the medal’s edge of the date of sinking suggests the recognition of special services rendered on that occasion.