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Auction: 17002 - Orders, Decorations and Medals
Lot: 1

Naval General Service 1793-1840, 1 clasp, Trafalgar (James Morris), suspension a little slack, light contact marks, very fine

The published rolls confirm the recipient as a Private in the Royal Marines aboard H.M.S. Ajax at Trafalgar.

Two other men of this name appear on the rolls, both of them recipients of the 'Syria' clasp: a Boatswain in H.M.S. Medea (Ex Sotheby's, December 1947) and a Private in the Royal Marines in H.M.S. Pique (Ex Spink, January 1950).

James Morris was born at Westbury, Wiltshire and was enlisted by Captain Abernethie for service in the Royal Marines at Bradford in August 1804: aged 16 years, he stood a little over 5 feet. He joined H.M.S. Ajax in the same month and was appointed a Private on 1 October 1805, shortly before Ajax's part in the battle of Trafalgar.

On that memorable occasion, under the command of Lieutenant John Pilford, R.N., Ajax was seventh in line in Nelson's column and engaged the Bucentaure and the Santissima Trinidad, in addition to collaborating with the Orion in forcing the surrender of the 74-gun Intrepide. Ajax had two killed and nine wounded.

Morris was still serving aboard her on the occasion of her loss to a catastrophic fire off Tenedos on 14 February 1807. He was among the survivors; sold with a typed collector's note and copied muster details.


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Sold for
£5,200