For sale is a Naval General Service Medal (G.V.I.R.) impressed named L13990. E.G.J. NASH. O.C.2. R.N. Medal comes with copies of service records and medal rolls.
Edward George James Nash was born on 31/1/1901 in Devizes, Wiltshire. A collier by trade he enlisted into the Royal Navy as an Officers Cook on 27/8/1921.
Officer cooks would prepare food for the wardroom (officers only). They would also prepare the captains food; he would have his own quarters on larger ships. At action stations they would be involved as part of the emergency teams dealing with first aid.
He served on a variety of H.M. ships and shore bases being awarded his Royal Navy Long Service and Good Conduct Medal in 1937, He qualified for his Naval GS medal with clasp Palestine 1936 – 39 whilst serving on H.M.S. AJAX (Leander class cruiser) 1935 – 37.
On the outbreak of WW2, he was serving on H.M.S. Despatch (Danae-class light cruiser) in the South Atlantic.
He was posted to H.M.S. Windsor (W-class destroyer) serving on her from 23/8/1940.
The Windsor had an eventful war and at this stage was part of the 16th Destroyer Flotilla at Harwich conducting convoy escort and patrol duty in the North Sea. On 28/10/1940, Windsor towed Walpole to Sheerness after Walpole detonated a magnetic mine and became disabled. On 8/12/1940, Windsor herself struck a naval mine off Aldeburgh, Suffolk, and she entered Chatham Dockyard for repairs.
He may have been discharged from her whilst in dry dock, as per usual. His records simply end at this stage until his discharge at the end of the war.
The Windsor’s repairs were completed on 24/4/1941. In May 1941, she detached from her North Sea duties for service with the Home Fleet at Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands.
Windsor returned to the 16th Destroyer Flotilla at Harwich in July 1941 and resumed her North Sea convoy and patrol duties. By January 1942, these duties had begun to include operations to intercept German motor torpedo boats in the North Sea before they could mount attacks against Allied ships. On 13/3/1942, she, Walpole, and the escort destroyers HMS Blencathra, HMS Calpe, and HMS Fernie deployed in the English Channel to intercept the German merchant raider Michel during Michel's voyage – under escort by five torpedo boats and nine minesweepers – from Flushing in the Netherlands to German-occupied France; Windsor exchanged gunfire with the German ships on 14 March and made a torpedo attack against them, sustaining superficial damage from the German gunfire. She then returned to convoy and patrol duty in the North Sea and English Channel
In September 1942, Windsor was assigned to support the passage of the Arctic convoys PQ 18 and QP 14 during their voyages to and from the Soviet Union, respectively. On 8/9/1942, she joined the escort of PQ 18.
24/1/1943 she and the escort destroyer HMS Mendip drove off a German E-boat attack against a convoy they were escorting in the North Sea. On 4/3/1943, Windsor, the escort destroyer HMS Southdown, and the corvette HMS Sheldrake fought an action against E-boats off Great Yarmouth. Windsor joined Blencathra and the motor gunboats MGB 321 and MGB 333 in driving off an attack by E-boats against Convoy FS 1074 off Smith's Knoll on 28/3/1943.
Windsor continued her escort and patrol operations in the North Sea until May 1944, and was part of the escort force for the Allied invasion of Normandy.
He was released from service on 23/10/1945.