Battle of Tamaii Egyptian War pair to Able Seaman later Petty Officer 1st Class T.R. Wilcocks, Royal Navy who saw service during the Egyptian War including ashore whilst attached to HMS Royal Adelaide at the battle of Tamaai on 13th March 1884. His Naval career would continue until 5th December 1894 ending up a Petty Officer 1st Class, he was once demoted to Petty Officer 2nd Class for being incompetent.
Pair: Egypt Medal 1882-1889, undated reverse, 1 Clasp: Tamaai; (T.R. WILCOCKS, A.B.) Khedive’s Star, dated 1884, unnamed as issued.
Condition: Egypt Medal with pitting and contact wear to the rim at 3 o’clock, but no naming underneath this, Fine
Thomas Richard Willcocks was born in Stonehouse, Devon on 28th November 1856, his trade given as Labourer he joined for 10 years service on 1st January 1873 initially serving as Impregnable as a Boy 2nd Class, being advanced to Boy 1st Class on 13th March 1873. He would then serve with Cambridge from 23rd September 30th November 1873 before returning to Impregnable from 1st December 1873 to 15th January 1874 being appointed an Ordinary Seaman on 1st December 1874 just days after his 18th Birthday. He would join Sultan from 25th February 1876 until 6th March 1876 and then Duke of Wellington from 7th March to 22nd March 1876, before being posted to Royal Adelaide on 23rd March. He would be promoted Able Seaman on 3rd February 1877 and would remain aboard the ship until 17th December 1879, at which point he transferred to Dryad.
Whilst with Dryad he would be appointed Leading Seaman on 1st December 1882, before reverting back to Able Seaman on 1st October 1883. He would then transfer to Royal Adelaide on 2nd February 1884 to 27th June 1884 during which time he would participate in the Battle of Tamaai on 13 March 1884 between a British force under Sir Gerald Graham and a Mahdist Sudanese army led by Osman Digna.
Despite his earlier victory at El Teb, Graham realised that Osman Digna's force was far from broken and that he still enjoyed support among the local population. Accordingly, a second expedition departed from Suakin on 10 March in order to defeat the Mahdists definitively.
The force was composed of the same units that had fought at El Teb: 4,500 men, with 22 guns and 6 machine guns. The Mahdists had roughly 10,000 men, most of them belonging to Osman Digna's Hadendoa tribe (known to British soldiers as "Fuzzy Wuzzies" for their unique hair).
He would rejoin Cambridge on 28th June 1884, being once more promoted to Leading Seaman on 29th April 1885 before leaving on 3rd May to join Defiance. He would rejoin Cambridge on 30th August 1885 until 17th September 1885 when he joined Calypso. He would be promoted Petty Officer 2nd Class on 1st January 1888 and then Petty Officer 1st Class on 1st April 1888. Joining Cambridge on 13th September 1888 he would revert back to Petty Officer 2nd Class on 15th January 1889 for incompetence. He would leave Cambridge on 2nd March 1889 then joining Defiance. He would return to Cambridge on 5th May 1889 a short appointment until 14th May 1889, an unknown appointment (the papers illegible) followed until 14th January 1890, He then returned once more to Cambridge being promoted once more to Petty Officer 1st Class on 20th January 1890. He would join Warspite on 28th February 1890. He would remain aboard Warspite until 24th June 1893 when he returned ashore. He was shore pensioned on 5th December 1894.
