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Auction: 22003 - Orders, Decorations and Medals
Lot: 263

Three: Sailmaker C. Walker, Royal Navy, present aboard Bristol during the Battle of the Falkland Islands, the Battle of the Otranto Strait and also present aboard Vengeance during the British Intervention in the Baltic, Operation Red Trek

1914-15 Star (184314, G. Walker, Slmr. Mte., R.N.), note initial; British War and Victory Medals (184314 C. Walker. Slmr. R.N.), minor contact wear, overall very fine

Charlies Walker was born at Portsmouth, Hampshire on 7 January 1880 and enlisted on 8 June 1895 as Boy Class II. Appointed Ordinary Seaman aboard H.M.S. Trafalgar on 7 January 1898 he saw service on a number of vessels prior to the Great War including Royal Arthur, Arrogant and Bristol.

The Great War

Walker was again stationed aboard the Town-class light cruiser H.M.S. Bristol on the North American and West Indies Station at the outbreak of the hostilities. She was somewhat involved in the Battle of the Falkland Islands when Vice-Admiral Sturdee’s Squadron caught and all but annihilated Von Spee’s German East Asian Squadron. Bristol was not heavily engaged during the fighting but did sink several colliers.

While Bristol was refitted in 1915 Walker served ashore at Victory I returning to the ship on 4 May 1916 in time to see service at the Battle of the Otranto Straits from 14-15 May 1917. Spotting the smoke of the Austro-Hungarian Squadron Bristol and her consort Dartmouth gave chase, with the faster Dartmouth managing to land some telling blows upon Novara, although she was later torpedoed and badly damaged by UC-25. The battle proved indecisive, with the Austro-Hungarian fleet remaining in-being but failing to cause the allies any significant losses.

Operation Red Trek

Posted to H.M.S. Vindictive on 1 October 1918 Walker was a part of Alexander-Sinclair’s Squadron deployed to the Baltic on Operation Red Trek. Here they found a complex political and military situation with their force deployed to check the advances of the Soviet Baltic Fleet. However with White Russian Forces, German Troops and the Independent Baltic states all standing off from one another they were increasingly drawn into maintaining a balance of power in the region.

Vindictive proved a key vessel in this regard; as an aircraft carrier she had the greatest reach of all the British assets. The operation got off to a bad start however when the Cassandra struck a mine and went down with a loss of 112 hands. Blockading the Red Fleet in the port of Kronstadt the British launched a series of air raids from Vindictive to strike them at anchor.

Unfortunately after years of war many sailors were tired of the war and found their posting to be an arduous one. A series of small-scale mutinies occurred, including one on Vindictive herself which Walker surely witnessed and, with White Forces withdrawing from the region and Estonia secure from Bolshevik aggression, the British were forced to leave the area.

Walker joined the Royal Fleet Reserve while aboard H.M.S. New Zealand on 6 February 1920 and was finally discharged completely on 16 June 1922; sold together with a copied service record.


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Sold for
£200

Starting price
£90