Royal Navy - Frederick Crossley - Medals?

[MJBatten]

Hi all,

I have yet another military question. I have a photo of my great grandad around 1920-1923 and he is wearing his WWI medals. However, on his navy record (attached) it seems he didn't see active duty during WWI. He was still training as a boy on HMS Impregnable. My question is, even if you were training, did you still receive medals?

Many thanks,

MJ

[MJBatten]

P.S as a side note to the medals, he also said he was onboard HMS Marlborough when they rescued the Russian royal family. He told me that himself when I was a boy, but they were rescued April 1919 and he didn't go on the ship until December 1919. I am jsuy a bit confused by his stories.

[mckha489]

I can see on UK naval medals & award Rolls on Ancestry that he has the British War Medal & the Victory Medal.

Wiki says

For the Royal Navy, Royal Marines and the Dominion and Colonial naval forces, the criteria were 28 days mobilised service, without a requirement for overseas service

If I am interpreting this correctly https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victory_Medal_(United_Kingdom), he qualified for the Victory medal by virtue of having qualified for the British War Medal.


I would imagine the men on the Marlborough would have passed on their stories, and perhaps it was retold so many times it became a part of his own memories.
(There is an interesting book about that “the Memory Illusion” by Julia Shaw)

[tonepad]

British War Medal (1914-1920)

This was later extended to services in Russia, Siberia and some other areas in 1919 and 1920.

https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/first-world-war-service-medals


Tony

[MJBatten]

Thank you for this. I just found the medal roll. Still doesn't make sense as he was only training still at the end of the war.

I guess that's true about the memories of others. There is an article about his brother's funeral in Fen 1920 and it states Fred Crossley is in the navy and on active service in Russia. I have checked all the ships he was on and he only seems to be in Constantinople, around other parts of Turkey, Greece, Malta but no Russia.

[MJBatten]

Thank you, Tony.

Still perplexed, as he said he was in Russia but clearly not. I wonder if other areas extends to Turkey with the Greco-Turkish War and the Anglo Turkish War, which looks like he was a part of onboard HMS Marlborough and HMS Argus.

[pogo99]

Thank you, Tony.

Still perplexed, as he said he was in Russia but clearly not. I wonder if other areas extends to Turkey with the Greco-Turkish War and the Anglo Turkish War, which looks like he was a part of onboard HMS Marlborough and HMS Argus.

The Marlborough did patrol in the Black Sea during his time on her so i can see that he might of gone to ports in The Crimea so technically he did go to Russia before July 1920, this would of made him eligible for the Victory medal to go with his War Medal for being in the Navy before 11/11/1918.

[MJBatten]

Thank you. That makes more sense then.

[AlanBoyd]

Not sure if this is relevant, or implied in previous answers, but the rescue of the Imperial family was indeed from Yalta, Crimea.