Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Three: Stoker 1st Class A. P. Orchard, Royal Navy, among those lost when H.M. submarine G. 8 failed to return from a North Sea patrol in January 1918
1915-15 Star (K.15239, A. P. Orchard, Sto. 1, R.N.); British War and Victory Medals (K. 15239 A. P. Orchard. Sto. 1 R.N.) good very fine (3) £120-£160

Arthur Percy Orchard was born at Ryde on the Isle of Wight on 17 May 1893, and entered the Royal Navy as a Stoker 2nd Class in June 1912. A Stoker 1st Class in the dreadnought H.M.S. Superb on the outbreak of hostilities in August 1914, he remained likewise employed until volunteering for submarines in October 1916. He was thus present at the battle of Jutland, when Superb engaged the S.M.S. Wiesbaden and Derfflinger with her 12-inch guns.
Following his transfer to submarines, Orchard joined the G. 8 and it was in her that he was posted missing, presumed killed in January 1918. The cause of her loss remains unknown, but when her wreck was discovered in 2019, she was found with depth rudders pointing towards the surface, which suggests that her crew were trying to get to the surface. Therefore, it is thought that a technical error led to the sinking, for there is no evidence on the wreck of it being hit by torpedoes or mined.
Aged 25, Orchard left a widow, Alice, of Jacinth Cottage, Bettesworth Road, Ryde and is commemorated on the Portsmouth Memorial.