The interesting Victory Medal, awarded to Lieutenant C.W. Beddoe, Royal Naval Reserve, who came from Liverpool, and was the son of the dock master in Cardiff. Commissioned in May 1915, he was initially assigned command of the armed trawler Myna in addition to an appointment as a Subdivisional Leader of Unit 84, but then appears to have been assigned with this vessel to operate in Area 22. Beddoe would appear to have then been the subject of a Court of Enquiry owing the a collision between the trawler Myna and another vessel around this time. From March 1917 he had command of a trawler in Area 12, and in January 1918 was posted to command the patrol gunboat Kilgobnet. It was for his gallant services aboard this vessel that he was presented with a ‘handsome illuminated scroll’ in recognition of his gallantry in rescuing the crew of the SS Nirpura when she was sunk in April 1918. On 16th April 1918, the cargo ship SS Nirpura, was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean west north west of Cabo de Roca in Portugal. All of her crew survived.
Victory Medal; (LIEUT. C.W. BEDDOE. R.N.R.)
Condition: Good Very Fine.
Charles William Beddoe was born on 18th September 1879 in St Peter, Liverpool, Lancashire, the son of Charles and Everilda Beddoe, his father was a dock master in Cardiff. Beddoe was commissioned as a temporary Sub Lieutenant into the Royal Naval Reserve on 4th May 1915, and was then posted to Defiance for a Modified Sweep Course on 10th May. On the termination of this course he was due to assigned command of the armed trawler Myna in addition to an appointment as a Subdivisional Leader of Unit 84, however this was then cancelled and instead he was given command of the armed trawler, also believed to be the Myna, which would then operate in Area 22. Beddoe would appear to have then been the subject of a Court of Enquiry owing the a collision between the trawler Myna and the SS Ealbei (?) being subsequently warned to be more careful by the Commander-in-Chief at Portsmouth. Beddoe was promoted to temporary Lieutenant on 4th September 1915.
Then on 9th March 1917 he found himself posted to Victory for command of an armed trawler in Area 12, and then on 28th January 1918 he was posted to Satellite for command of the patrol gunboat Kilgobnet. It was for his gallant services aboard this vessel that he was presented with a ‘handsome illuminated scroll’ in recognition of his gallantry in rescuing the crew of the SS Nirpura when she was sunk in April 1918. On 16th April 1918, the cargo ship SS Nirpura, was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 110 nautical miles west north west of Cabo de Roca in Portugal. All of her crew survived, having clearly been picked up by Beddoe in Kilgobnet. Beddoe does not appear to have received any official decoration for this incident.
Beddoe was demobilised on 3rd April 1919, and returned to lived in Waterloo, Liverpool. The ‘handsome illuminated scroll’ which was given to Beddoe is now housed in the collection of the Imperial War Museum.
