Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

A Great War Russian St. George’s Medal for Bravery group of six awarded to Chief Engine Room Artificer 1st Class W. A. Dobbie, Royal Navy, who was officially commended for his services at the Battle of Jutland

Queen’s South Africa 1899-1902, no clasp (E.R.A., H.M.S. Sybille); 1914-15 Star (269503 C.E.R.A., R.N.); British War and Victory Medals (269503 C.E.R.A. 1, R.N.); Royal Navy L.S. & G.C., G.V.R., 1st issue (269503 C.E.R.A. 2 Cl., H.M.S. Victory); Russian St. George’s Medal for Bravery, 4th class, the reverse officially numbered ‘1272524’, generally good very fine or better (6) £500-600

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, The Barrett J. Carr Collection of Boer War Medals.

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A total of 272 Queen’s South Africa Medals were awarded to the ship’s company of H.M.S. Sybille, 187 of them without clasp.

William Albert Dobbie was born in Birmingham in October 1875 and entered the Royal Navy as an Acting Engine Room Artificer 4th Class in October 1898. He subsequently served in H.M.S. Sybille from October 1900 until she was wrecked in Lambert’s Bay on 16 January 1901, thereby becoming the only Royal Navy ship to be lost during the Boer War.

Awarded his L.S. & G.C. Medal in November 1913, Dobbie was serving ashore at the outbreak of hostilities in August 1914, but he returned to sea in the following year with an appointment as Chief Engine Room Artificer 1st Class in the Barham, the flagship of the Fifth Battle Squadron. He was subsequently present at Jutland, when that ship was heavily engaged with Hipper’s battle cruisers, scoring hits on the Lutzow, Derfflinger and Seydlitz, but was herself badly mauled in the process, several hits causing her serious casualties, among them four officers and 22 ratings killed. For his own part, Dobbie was ‘commended for good services in action’ on the same occasion (his service record refers) and subsequently awarded his Russian decoration (verified on John T. Mock’s published roll).

He remained in the Barham until May 1919 and was pensioned ashore in November 1920.