GALLIPOLI SHORE SERVICE WW1 ROYAL FLEET RESERVE MEDALS 199127 PIDDICK HMS GLORY

A group of 4 medals to Leading Seaman Piddock, who initially served in the Royal Navy who is believed that he was manning the torpedoes on H.M.S. Glory at Gallipoli and who would have been part of the crew sent ashore for further service

1914 – 15 Star, impressed named 199127, A.E.RIDDOCK, A.B..R.N.; British War and Victory Medals (1914 – 18), impressed named 199127. A.E. PIDDOCK.  L.S. R.N.; Royal Navy Long Service and Good Conduct Medal (G.V.) impressed named 199127. A.E. PIDDOCK. A.B. H.M.S. VERNON. Court mounted for display, comes with copies of service record, medal roll 1911 census and death extract.

Leading Seaman Albert Edwin Piddock was born on the 30/5/1882 at Lambeth, London. A labourer by trade, he enlisted into the Royal Navy as a Boy 2nd Class on the 8/5/1898. He served on a variety of H.M. ships and shore bases including Impregnable, Ganges, Agincourt, Australia (Coast Guard Squadron), Hannibal, Revenge, thrice posted to the Vernon (Torpedo School), Firequeen, Formidable, Victory, Hecla, Blenheim, Blake (Depot ship for the Second Destroyer Flotilla).

He married in 1906 and the 1911 census records him being in the R.N. He was discharged to shore 29/5/1912 and joined the Royal Fleet Reserve (Portsmouth). During WW1 he was recalled in August 1914 and served on H.M.S. Glory (pre dreadnought battleship) until 10/4/1916.

H.M.S. Glory was assigned to the 8th Battle Squadron, Channel Fleet, based at Devonport, but she was detached on 5/8/1914 to serve at Halifax, Canada, as guard ship and to support the North America and West Indies Station cruiser squadron, arriving in Halifax on 17 August. She escorted a Canadian troop convoy in October 1914. By February 1915, the North America and West Indies Squadron consisted of Glory, six cruisers, and an armed merchant cruiser.

Glory transferred to the Mediterranean in May 1915 to participate in Dardanelles campaign, arriving at the Dardanelles in June 1915. By the time Glory arrived, the ground forces had gone ashore and Glory was selected to send a large portion of her crew ashore to assist with the landing and distribution of weapons and stores. Due to Piddock's three postings to Vernon, he was probably a torpedo specialist and as such it is highly likely that he would have served ashore as there was no use for the ships 4 torpedo tubes to be manned. Since H.M.S. Glory did not have a full crew, she could not support the Landing at Suvla Bay in August. She did not fire her guns at all until early October, when she joined the battleship Prince George to shell Ottoman positions at Gallipoli. At the end of 1915 she left the Dardanelles and joined the Suez Canal Patrol in the Mediterranean on 4/1/1916. In April 1916, she returned to England. He returned to H.M.S. Vernon 11/4/1916 serving there for the remainder of the war, it would appear that he was demobilised 31/12/1918 but remained with the R.F.R until 1921. He died in Camberwell in 1925.