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Auction: 17002 - Orders, Decorations and Medals
Lot: 119

British War Medal 1914-20 (Gnr. W. A. J. Aldridge, R.N.), claw slightly slack, very fine

William Arthur James Aldridge was born in Gosport, Hampshire on 16 November 1889 and entered the Royal Navy as a Boy 2nd Class in September 1905. An Able Seaman serving aboard H.M.S. Zealandia on the outbreak of hostilities in August 1914, he remained similarly employed until coming ashore to Victory I in October 1917. On 3 November 1914, whilst serving in the 3rd Battle Squadron as part of the Northern Patrol, Zealandia rammed a German submarine; she afterwards saw action in the Dardanelles.

In February 1918, Aldridge was commissioned as a Gunner, R.N., and between the wars his appointments included the submarine depot ship Dolphin in 1930-33 and attachment to the cruiser H.M.A.S. Canberra and the seaplane carrier H.M.A.S. Albatross in 1936-39. Placed on the Retired List in November 1939, he was recalled for service in the accommodation ship Epinal in Portsmouth in early 1941. Having likely been on the receiving end of assorted Luftwaffe visitations in the interim, he was placed back on the Retired List April 1946. Aldridge died in Winchester in February 1966; sold with copied service record.



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Sold for
£30