Description
Ashantee Medal 1873-4, no bar, Private Charles Plumb, Royal Marines, HMS Barracouta.
Officially engraved: “C. Plumb. Pte. R.M. H.M.S. Barracouta 73-74”
Confirmed on the medal roll and service papers.
Charles William Plumb was born on 6th April 1852, in Little Munden, Ware, Herefordshire.
The son of John and Sarah Elizabeth (Steward).
Not long after becoming of age, he signed up with the Royal Marines locally at Ware on 10th October 1870.
After training and some time with the Chatham Division, he was ready to see his first ship’s posting, joining HMS Barracouta on 19th March 1873.
Not long after that he would see his first war, taking part in the Ashantee Campaign of 1873-4, whilst onboard the ship.
During the campaign he was invalided on 3rd July 1873 off the West Coast of Africa due to Fever.
Some years later, he would see another war, this time in Egypt and Sudan.
This service would later earn him the Egypt Medal, bars for Suakin 1885 and El-Teb-Tamaai, as well as the Khedive’s Bronze Star.
At this time he saw the following ships service:
“HMS Cockatrice, 11th May 1881 – 10th July 1882
HMS Monarch, 25th July 1882 – 29th September
HMS Eryalus, 12th Feb 1884 – 22nd April 1884
HMS Monarch, 23rd APril 1884 – 25th April 1885
HMS Orion, 26th April 1885 – 20th September 1880.
He would later close out his career with the Chatham Division, being discharge for free, after over 19 years of service on 13th December 1889, deciding to return home to Little Munden.
His service was certainly long, but a far cry from the award of the Naval LSGC Medal, he had bounced between “Very Good” ratings and “Indifferent” or “Fair”, with no less than 6 occasions where he was locked up in the “Cells”, as a result by the time of his discharge he had accrued 1 Good Conduct Badge.
In his personal life, whilst on service, he married his wife Elizabeth Cork at St Mary’s Church in Chatham, Kent on 9th January 1875.
He later died in Medway, Kent on 16th March 1931.
