A WW1 and WW2 Royal Navy ‘Jutland Action’ Medal Group awarded to Commander J. H. C. Minter, Royal Navy, who was present at the Battle of Jutland in the battleship H.M.S. Royal Oak

John Henry Christian Minter was born in Plymouth, Devon on Christmas Day 1891 and was the son of Staff Surgeon, E.D. Minter. He entered the Royal Navy as a Midshipman in January 1909. By the outbreak of hostilities in August 1914, he was serving as a Lieutenant aboard the cruiser H.M.S. Duke of Edinburgh, in which capacity he would quickly see action in the Red Sea.

In April 1916, Minter removed to the recently launched battleship Royal Oak, and he remained likewise employed until the war's end, seeing further action at the battle of Jutland. On that occasion, Royal Oak was the flagship of the 4th Battle Squadron and brought her 15-inch guns to bear against the Wiesbaden, Derffinger and Seydlitz, and gained a telling hit on one of the latter's gun turrets. Shortly afterwards, when the enemy unleased its destroyers in a torpedo attack, Royal Oak's 6-inch guns contributed to the impressive wall of retaliatory fire; in all, she expended 38 of her 15-inch shells and 80 of her 6-inch shells.

Having next attended an advanced W./T. course at the Royal Naval College, Greenwich, Minter was promoted to Lieutenant-Commander in February 1922, and, in August 1926, joined the Warspite as Fleet W./T. Officer to Admiral Sir Roger Keyes, C.-in-C. Mediterranean. His Assistant Fleet W./T. Officer was Lieutenant Lord Louis Mountbatten.

Minter was placed on the Retired List as a Commander in May 1936, but returned to duty on the renewal of hostilities. In April 1942, he joined the Harwich base Badger for W./T. duties to the Fleet Officer in Charge, and he remained similarly employed until reverting to the Retired List in September 1945. The Commander died at Chichester, Sussex in January 1973.

The medals are mounted for display, sold with some good copied research, and are as follows -

1914-15 Star, LIEUT. J. H. C. MINTER, R.N.; British War and Victory Medals, LIEUT. J. H. C. MINTER, R.N.; Defence and War Medals 1939-45, privately inscribed 'COMDR. J. H. C. MINTER, R.N.'; Jubilee 1935, privately inscribed, 'LIEUT. COMDR. J. H. C. MINTER, R.N.'

Jubilee Medal confirmed on the Roll, as is his WW2 service confirmed in the copy research. This medal group was sold by Dix Noonan Webb (now Noonan’s of Mayfair) on the 1st of December, 2004, for £260.00, plus commission and VAT.

Condition, generally very fine or better