Royal Navy Long Service and Good Conduct Medal, EVII awarded to Acting Chief Yeoman of Signals H.W. Stanley, Royal Navy who would be awarded the Long Service and Good Conduct Medal on 4th August 1910 whilst serving aboard HMS Victory, he would later see service during the Great War aboard HMS Prince of Wales as part of the Channel Squadron that helped transport the British Expeditionary Force to France on the outbreak of war and later the Portsmouth Marine Battalion in Ostend, Belgium. The ship would also support the landings at Gallipoli where Prince of Wales screened the Australian landings at Gaba Tepe and Anzac Cove on 25th April 1915, the first day of the landings.
Royal Navy Long Service and Good Conduct Medal, EVII, (169433 H.W. STANLEY. ACT. CH. YEO. OF SIGS. H.M.S. VICTORY.)|
Condition: Good Very Fine
Herbert Walter Stanley was born in Liverpool, Lancashire and giving his occupation as Labourer joined the Royal Navy as a Boy 2nd Class on 2nd September 1892 joining Caledonia, he would be advanced to Boy 1st Class on 12th October 1893 before leaving the ship on 21st November 1893.
He would then join Pembroke, remaining ashore until 17th May 1894 when he joined Ruby, he would return ashore on 4th September 1894, before being posted to Anson on 23rd January 1895. Whilst aboard he would be promoted Signalman on 24th May 1895, before being posted to Forte from 6th July 1896 to 21st October 1896, Anson from 22nd October 1896 until 6th November 1896, Pembroke from 7th November 1896 until 7th March 1897 being promoted Leading Seaman on 5th February 1897.
Then would follow postings to Wye from 8th March 1897 until 8th July 1898, Pembroke I from 9th July 1898 until 30th September 1898, Isis from 1st October 1898 until 16th December 1899, Astraea from 17th December 1899 until 28th March 1900, Duke of Wellingon I from 29th March 1900 until 11th May 1900 being appointed 2nd Yeoman of Signals on 1st April 1900, Victory from 12th May 1900 until 21st June 1900, St. George from 22nd June 1900 until 25th November 1901, Duke of Wellington on 26th-27th November 1901, Bellona from 28th November 1901 until 12th November 1902, Victory from 13th November 1902 until 6th February 1903, Bellona from 7th February 1903 until 10th November 1903 being appointed Yeoman of Signals from on 6th April 1903. St Vincent from 17th November 1903 until 20th December 1903, HMS Fugrious from 30th December 1903 until 5th January 1905, Juno from 6th January to 26th June 1905, Victory I from 27th June 1905 until 21st August 1905, Hindustan from 22nd August 1905 until 19th August 1907, Victory I from 20th August 1907 until 17th July 1909, Egmont from 20th July 1909 to 12th February 1910 being appointed Acting Chief Yeoman of Signals from 1st October 1909.
He would serve aboard Aboukir from 13th February 1910 until 7th March 1910 when he was posted back to Victory I. awarded his Long Service and Good Conduct Medal on 4th August 1910. He would remain aboard Victory until 28th October 1910 until he transferred to Jupiter until on 5th June 1911, Victory I from 6th Hune 1911 until 3rd July 1911, Hercules from 4th July 1911 until 29th July 1911, Victory I from 30th July to 3rd August 1911, New Zealand from 4th August 1911 until 30th November 1911, Zealandia from 1st December 1911 until 17th May 1912, then Prince of Wales from 18th May 1912 until 5th April 1917.
Prince of Wales began the Great War as the flagship of Rear-Admiral Bernard Currey and the first task of the squadron was to protect the transfer of the British Expeditionary Force over the English Channel to France. They patrolled the eastern end of the Channel while the 7th and 8th Battle Squadrons covered the cruiser squadron at the western entrance. The Germans made no significant effort to interfere with the traffic in the Channel and the 5th BS was allowed to return to Portland after the bulk of the BEF was across on 23 August. Several days later, the squadron ferried the Portsmouth Marine Battalion to Ostend, Belgium. On 14 November, the squadron transferred to Sheerness to guard against a possible German invasion of the United Kingdom, but it transferred back to Portland on 30 December 1914.
On 19 March 1915, Prince of Wales was ordered to the Dardanelles to participate in the Dardanelles Campaign. She departed Portland on 20 March 1915 and was assigned to the British 5th Squadron of the Allied Fleet off the Dardanelles, where she arrived on 29 March. Prince of Wales supported the landings of the 3rd Brigade, Australian Army, at Gaba Tepe and Anzac Cove on 25 April. Her time at the Dardanelles was destined to be short as the Anglo-French-Italian Naval Convention of 10 May required that the British furnish a squadron of four battleships to reinforce the Italian Navy against the Austro-Hungarian Navy after Italy declared war on Austria-Hungary. Admiral Paolo Thaon di Revel, the Italian naval chief of staff, believed that the threat from Austro-Hungarian submarines and naval mines in the narrow waters of the Adriatic was too serious for him to use the fleet in an active way. He therefore kept his most modern battleships, plus the British ones, at Taranto to blockade the Austro-Hungarians in the Adriatic Sea.
On 22 May, Prince of Wales, along with the battleships Implacable, London, and Queen, was transferred to the Adriatic to form the 2nd Detached Squadron and Prince of Wales arrived at her new base on 27 May. The ship became the flagship of the squadron in March 1916. She ended her flagship duties in June 1916, when she went to Gibraltar for a refit and then returned to the Adriatic.
In February 1917, Prince of Wales was ordered to return to the United Kingdom. On her voyage home, she called at Gibraltar from 28 February 1917 to 10 March 1917 and arrived at Devonport Dockyard later in March
He would transfer ashore on 6th April 1917 and was attached to Victory I until 3rd May 1919 when he was demobilised. His papers not that he joined the New Coastguard Force on 1st May 1919.
