Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Africa General Service 1902-56, 1 clasp, Somaliland 1902-04 (F. Simmonds, Sto., H.M.S. Merlin.) surname officially corrected, nearly extremely fine £80-£100

Frederick Simmonds was born at Maidstone, Kent, on 27 January 1879, and joined the Navy on 19 February 1900, as a Stoker 2nd Class, aged 21. He was advanced to Stoker in October 1901, and to Stoker 1st Class in July 1906. He joined Merlin on 1 May 1903 and served in her until 18 February 1905, but, during this time, spent 18 days doing hard labour for smuggling what appears to be a monkey on board. Throughout his time in the Navy his disciplinary record was appalling, with at least eight periods in cells, another two periods of 30 days hard labour for absence, 42 days hard labour for breaking out of ship, and a period for desertion from 10 to 25 May 1906. Eventually it seems that the Navy had had enough of this ‘King’s Hard Bargain’ and he was discharged to Shore on 16 December 1908, ‘Services no longer required’. The ‘D’ in his surname has been added to the medal roll which explains the official correction. Sold with copied record of service.