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Auction: 22133 - Orders, Decorations and Medals - e-Auction
Lot: 3

Naval General Service 1793-1840, 1 clasp, Syria (Geo. Gooding.), a few minor edge knocks, otherwise about very fine

George Gooding served as a Stoker aboard the 6-gun steam paddle-sloop H.M.S. Gorgon. Interestingly, Gorgon was the first vessel to be fitted with direct-acting engines and as such they were known for their compactness, strength and lightness. Fitted with four copper boilers, as a stoker Gooding would have been one of those men responsible for raising steam and ensuring her engines were fully-functional at all times. Participating in the bombardment of Acre (4 November 1840), it was possibly a shell from Gorgon which hit the Egyptian magazine, causing it to explode with huge loss of life and bringing about the conclusion of the battle.
In 1843 Gorgon was stationed off the River Plate, during the Uruguayan Civil War (where she saw action at the Battle of Vuelta de Obligado) and in 1858 assisted in the laying of the first transatlantic telegraph cable by taking soundings for the cable-laying ex-warship H.M.S. Agamemnon.

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Sold for
£700

Starting price
£420