Great War North Irish District Kingstown Coast Guard Office and North Sea operations and long service group awarded to a Second World War British Empire Medal recipient, Chief Petty Officer Writer A.J. Gasson, Royal Navy. From Alton, Hampshire, he worked for a period as a Writer 3rd Class at Kingstown between January 1915 and October 1917, in a period which saw the Irish Easter Rising. He then saw service in the North Sea aboard the battleship Monarch, and was present at Rosyth, Scotland, when the German High Seas Fleet surrendered. Seeing service throughout the inter-war years, he received his long service medal in October 1929, and on the outbreak of the Second World War was working with the Drafting Office at Pembroke. He found himself working in the reconstruction of the Admiralty Accounts Office at Bath from June 1942, and was awarded the British Empire Medal in the New Years Honours List for 1943.
Group of 3: British War Medal and Victory Medal; (M.8248 A.J. GASSON. 2 WR. R.N.); Royal Navy Long Service and Good Conduct Medal, GVR Adm. bust; (M.8248 A.J. GASSON. C.P.O. WR. H.M.S. PEMBROKE.), mounted swing style as worn.
Condition: slight contact wear, about Good Very Fine.
Together with the following original documentation:
Recipient’s original Royal Navy Parchment Certificate of Service, issued in the name of Alfred John Gasson, and covering his entire service from September 1914 through to October 1945.
Recipient’s original Royal Navy Parchment Writer Ratings’ History Sheet, issued in the name of Alfred John Gasson, circa 1936 on his transfer to the Chatham Division, and covering the final years of his service, this being then affixed to the separate earlier parchment sheet which covers his time from September 1914 to September 1936.
Alfred John Gasson was born on 18 November 1894 in Alton, Hampshire, and was an estate worker on Winchfield Farm in Rotherwick when, owing to the outbreak of the Great War, he joined the Royal Navy as a 3rd Writer (Portsmouth No.M.8248) with Victory on 3 September 1914, before transferring to the books of President for service with the North Irish District from 19 January 1915, where he then remained until posted back to Victory on 9 October 1917. During this period he fulfilled his duties in the Coast Guard Office at Kingstown.
Posted aboard the battleship Monarch from 13 October 1917, he finally had the opportunity to see operational service, when serving as part of the 2nd Battle Squadron with the Grand Fleet, and taking part in operations in the North Sea.
In April 1918, the German High Seas Fleet again sortied, to attack British convoys to Norway. They enforced strict wireless silence during the operation, which prevented Room 40 cryptanalysts from warning the new commander of the Grand Fleet, Admiral Beatty. The British only learned of the operation after an accident aboard the battlecruiser SMS Moltke forced her to break radio silence to inform the German commander of her condition. Beatty then ordered the Grand Fleet to sea to intercept the Germans, but he was not able to reach the High Seas Fleet before it turned back for Germany. One of those vessels which sortied was Monarch. The ship was present at Rosyth, Scotland, when the High Seas Fleet surrendered there on 21 November. During his time with Monarch, Gasson had been employed in the Captain’s Office.
Gasson, who had been advanced to 2nd Writer on 3 September 1918, then joined Victory from 4 July 1919. He was advanced to 1st Writer when with the destroyer depot ship Dido on 1 September 1920, and was with Pembroke when promoted to Petty Officer Writer on 4 January 1924, and was still with this establishment when promoted to Chief Petty Officer Writer on 3 September 1924. He saw service aboard the aircraft carrier Hermes from June 1925 to December 1927, and having been with Pembroke when he was awarded the Royal Navy Long Service and Good Conduct Medal on 29 October 1929, was with the battleship Valiant from January 1932 to August 1934, before being pensioned from Pembroke on 2 September 1936, he having been latterly employed with the Drafting Office.
Gasson decided to immediately rejoin the navy as a Chief Petty Officer Writer with the Chatham Division (MX.53271) on 3 September 1936, when posted back to Pembroke and its Drafting Office, and he remained there until the outbreak of the Second World War, when still with Pembroke on 3 September 1939 and still ranked as a Chief Petty Officer Writer. Gasson remained at Pembroke with the Drafting Office until posted to Drake on 29 June 1942, this being the Devonport based Royal Naval Barracks. During this period, whilst also shown as employed at Bristol with the training establishment there, he found himself employed in the reconstruction of the Admiralty Accounts Office at Bath. It was for this work, and in relation to his long, distinguished and meritorious services, that Gasson was nominated for and then awarded the British Empire Medal in the New Years Honours List as published in the London Gazette for 1 January 1943.
Gasson was posted back to Pembroke from 25 August 1943 and saw service in the Commander’s Office until released from service just after the end of hostilities on 29 October 1945. His is additionally entitled to the British Empire Medal and the Defence Medal and War Medal for his Second World War service. Having however left the service after the war, he presumably never wore these awards and they have since become detached from the remainder of his awards sold here.
