An outstanding and rare Great War 'Gallipoli' C.G.M. group of five awarded to Acting Leading...

An outstanding and rare Great War ‘Gallipoli’ C.G.M. group of five awarded to Acting Leading Seaman W. J. Pierce, Howe Battalion, Royal Naval Division, Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, later Defensively Armed Merchant Ships and a veteran of the Battle of Antwerp in October 1914, for his great gallantry during the Third Battle of Krithia, in which his Battalion suffered over 80% casualties; one of only a handful of men who reached and held the Turkish front-line trench, when a withdrawal was ordered, Pierce, though badly wounded himself, stayed behind to cover the retreat of other wounded men and then carried back a wounded comrade over open ground, completely exposed to enemy fire Conspicuous Gallantry Medal, G.V.R. (SX.3.226 W. J. Pierce, A.B. R.N.V.R. Howe Bn. R.N. Div.); 1914 Star, with clasp (SX3/226 W. J. Pierce, A.B. R.N.V.R. Howe Bttn. R.N.D.); British War and Victory Medals (S.3-226 W. J. Pierce. Act. L.S. R.N.V.R.); Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve L.S. & G.C., G.V.R., 1st issue (3/226 W. J. Pierce, A.B. R.N.V.R. Sussex Divn.) minor edge nick to CGM, light contact marks, nearly extremely fine (5) £15,000-£20,000 --- Provenance: Exhibited in the Royal Marines Barracks, Walmer, Deal when the School of Music was destroyed and heavy casualties inflicted by an IRA bomb on 22 September 1989. Dix Noonan Webb, September 2009. Only 13 C.G.M.s ever issued to Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve; the combination with both a 1914 Star and a Long Service and Good Conduct Medal is excessively rare. C.G.M. London Gazette 13 September 1915: ‘Showed great gallantry on the 4th June in remaining in the enemy’s trench and continuing firing, although wounded, to cover the retirement of other wounded men, and finally in carrying in a wounded man under heavy fire.’ The original recommendation was submitted by Commodore Oliver Backhouse to General Sir Ian Hamilton on 8 June: ‘I desire to bring to your notice the following officers and men of the 2nd R.N. Brigade who performed special meritorious service during the operations on 4th June. In illustration of the fighting I would mention that out of the 36 officers and 911 men who formed the 1st line of advance in the assault of the enemy’s trenches only 6 officers and 279 men escaped injury. The 2nd and 3rd lines of advance consisted of 28 officers and 850 men of whom 3 officers and 493 men were unwounded.’ Hamilton forwarded the list to London, stating that ‘The powers granted to me by His Majesty the King to confer decorations in the field do not extend to this Division which is under the control of the Admiralty, and which is therefore at a disadvantage in this respect compared with the other troops alongside whom they are fighting.’ William James Pierce was born at 7 Fort Road, New Willingdon, Eastbourne on 13 September 1893, one of seven children of a journeyman house decorator (four of his siblings died from TB in childhood). A butcher’s assistant by trade, and a keen footballer, Pierce enrolled in the Eastbourne (No 3) Company, Sussex Division of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve on 14 January 1911. He claimed a date of birth one year earlier than was truly the case. Aged 17, he was 5’ 7” with fair hair, blue eyes and “fairly good” physique (32” chest). The Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Goes to War The Admiralty War Plan called for the creation of an ‘Advanced Base Force’ to seize or protect naval bases and key harbours that might be necessary to support expeditionary warfare. This concept was inspired by the example of the successful seizure and fortification of Guantanamo Bay in Cuba by the US Marine Corps during the 1898 Spanish-American War. The A.B.F. was to be created by expanding the Royal Marines. As the mobilisation of July 1914 got underway, a Royal Marine Brigade capable of fighting on land was formed by using reservists to expand existing R.M. units. By August the Fleet and shore establishments had been manned to maximum capacity and the Admiralty found it had a surplus of reservists still available, especially men (like William Pierce) who had enrolled in the pre-war Royal Naval Volunteer Reserves. It was expected that these reservists, who already had some naval training, would be needed at sea over time to replace casualties and ‘natural wastage’, but in the short term the most obvious way to keep them still available to the Admiralty was to expand the Advanced Base Force. Winston Churchill, the First Lord of the Admiralty, issued the necessary orders on 16 August, and by 22 August Pierce and his fellow R.N.V.R.s were mobilised and concentrated at Betteshanger, near Deal. They bought with them their ‘long pattern’ 50-inch barrel Lee-Enfields (rather than the ‘short’ 44.5-inch model used by the Army). R.N.V.R. units were not issued with any machine-guns. In late August 1914 Ostend was threatened by German cavalry and on 26 August the Marine Brigade was sent to strengthen its defences. On 8 September it was agreed that the First Naval Brigade (comprising the Benbow, Collingwood, Hawke and Drake battalions) and the Second Naval Brigade (comprising the battalions of Howe, Hood, Anson and Nelson) plus the Marine Brigade would be equipped and trained as an Infantry Division (the Royal Naval Division) reporting to the Admiralty. Two important innovations were made. Generally, Divisions are ad hoc organisations to which units are assigned and reassigned as military needs change, so there is not necessarily in the minds of soldiers a lasting identification with a specific division. The naval battalions fought together throughout the War, and were supported by a single Divisional Depot instead of multiple regimental ones (the R.N. Division is the only Divisional formation ever to have been included in the inscriptions on medals). Second, civilians were commissioned from the outset, with a preference for those aged 25-35, who would prove to be more experienced, resilient and talented as leaders than those who formed the majority of junior officers in army units. They were collectively described by Churchill as ‘salamanders born in the furnace’ (WSC’s Introduction to Jerrold’s The Royal Naval Division refers). The Division attracted many well-connected talents, including men such as Arthur Asquith (the Prime Minister’s son), Bernard Freyberg and Rupert Brooke. The R.N.V.R., which provided the majority of officers and men for the original eight naval battalions, had a strong naval esprit de corps and was determined to adopt only the essentials of infantry techniques. Naval terms and traditions were rigorously followed and the naval units never sought to become ‘smart soldiers’. They bowed to superior ability more readily than to superior rank. They were always more difficult (and rewarding) men to command. Antwerp By mid-September the German thrust into France had been defeated, but the Allied attack on the German defences along the River Aisne had ended and the “Race to the Sea” was getting underway. In Belgium, a separate German force had been tasked to defeat the Belgian army, capture the key port of Antwerp and then occupy the entire country. Antwerp was defended by two lines of forts, and on 2 October the Germans broke through the outer line. The Admiralty undertook to send its three brigades to reinforce the defences of the inner line of forts. By 4 October the Royal Marine Brigade had deployed in Antwerp. That day the two Naval Brigades marched to Dover and embarked in transports so overcrowded that it was standing room only for Pierce and the Howe Battalion. At Dunkirk they were issued with 120 rounds of ammunition (mostly to be carried in pock...