Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Pair: Lieutenant-Colonel H. Y. Hext, Royal Marine Light Infantry

Ashantee 1873-74, no clasp (Lt H. Y. Hext, R.M.L.I, H.M.S. Active 1873-4); British War Medal 1914-20 (Lt. Col. H. Y. Hext, R.M.L.I.) minor edge bruising to first, otherwise good very fine (2) £400-£500

Henry Yeatman Hext joined the Royal Marines as Lieutenant on 6 December 1867. He served in H.M.S. Adriane from December 1871 until August 1873 before returning to Plymouth, and then on 15 December 1873 he embarked on the Transport Thames with the Marine Battalion for service in then Ashantee Campaign. During the Campaign, the Royal Marine ‘African’ Battalion were borne on the books of H.M.S. Active. Hext’s papers note service aboard, most likely in H.M.S. Himalaya, Nebraska, and Victor Emmanuel during the campaign. He was landed with the ‘African’ Battalion, but as the battalion did not cross the River Prah during the campaign, they did not receive the clasp to the medal.

Returning home at the conclusion of the campaign, Hext next served in H.M.S. Resistance and H.M.S. Achilles, then back to Plymouth H.Q. He was promoted Captain on 1 July 1881, and from that date, until being promoted Major on 20 November 1889, he served in H.M.S. Hibernia, as Musketry Instructor for the Mediterranean Fleet, Plymouth H.Q., and at the Royal Naval College, being made Brevet Major on 6 December 1888. He saw further service in H.M.S. Trafalgar in 1890 and was appointed Musketry Instructor at Portsmouth on 29 January 1891. He was placed on the Retired List at his own request on 6 October 1893. His records claim he served with the Imperial Yeomanry during the Boer War but does not seem to be listed on the medal roll (Army or Navy).

On 13 October 1914 Hext was appointed Recruiting Officer for the Exeter District, and was promoted Lieutenant Colonel on 25 July 1916, finally relinquished his appointment as Recruiting Staff Officer on 1 February 1919. For his Great War service, he was awarded the British War Medal only.