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Auction: 23111 - Orders, Decorations and Medals - e-Auction
Lot: 260

The Tragic British War Medal awarded to Deck Hand & Trimmer B. J. Lacey, Royal Navy, a 'Yarmouth Man' who drowned in Belfast Harbour on 3 January 1916 having fallen from H.M.D. Spring Flower

British War Medal 1914-20 (3042T.S. B. J. Lacey. Tr. R.N.R.), minor contact wear, very fine

Bertie James Lacey was born on 26 August 1889 at Yarmouth, Norfolk. Marrying Maud Lacey of 41 Tyrolean Square, Cobholm, Great Yarmouth he later joined the Royal Navy for service during the Great War. Lacey was reported drowned after falling from H.M. Drifter Spring Flower on 3 January 1916. The Yarmouth Mercury refers:

'The deceased was coming up the ladder when it turned upside down, throwing him into the dock between the ship and quay. His head, witness believed [SIC], struck against the side of the ship. Witness was standing on the quay at the time of the accident, and with the assistance of others searched for him, but he was not found for about twenty minutes, as he never came to the surface.'

The Spring Flower was lost in March the same year to a submarine. Lacey is buried in Great Yarmouth (Caister) Cemetery, Norfolk; sold together with correspondence with the Norfolk Cultural Services company, Commonwealth War Graves details and extracts from the Yarmouth Mercury as well as an extract from Fishing Vessels Captured or Sunk.

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Sold for
£40

Starting price
£20