A WW1 D.S.M. group of five awarded to Ordnance Artificer First Class C. H. Hazell, Royal Navy, who was decorated for his services in the H.M. Monitor 32 in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Charles Henry Hazell was born at Taunton, Somerset in March 1893 and entered the Royal Navy as a Boy 2nd Class in March 1893. An Ordinary Seaman aboard the cruiser Duke of Edinburgh by the outbreak of hostilities in August 1914, he transferred in the rate of Acting Armourer’s Mate to the monitor 32 in July 1915, and was awarded his D.S.M. for his services in her over the following year in the Eastern Mediterranean.

In fact Hazell remained similarly employed until coming home to an appointment at Vivid II in May 1918, a busy period indeed for 32 and her crew. Armed with two 6-inch guns, she was based at Imbros during July 1915 to June 1916, when she lent supporting fire in the withdrawal of our forces from Gallipoli, and thereafter at Mitylene (July 1916 to September 1917) and Stavros (September 1917 to January 1918), the latter including her shelling of retreating Turkish forces at Gaza and Jaffa in October 1917.

D.S.M. London Gazette 11 April 1917: ‘For services in the Eastern Mediterranean up to 30 June 1916.’

As stated, Hazell returned to an appointment in Vivid II in May 1918 but returned to sea in the battleship Orion that September. Then in the early 1920s he transferred to submarines, his earlier experiences in handling “big guns” being used in successive appointments in the M. 1 (February to June 1922) and the M. 2 (July 1922 to August 1923), both of which carried 12-inch battleship guns, followed by the X. 1 (November 1923 to December 1926), armed with four 5.2-inch quick-firing guns - and at that stage the largest British submarine in service.

Hazell was awarded his Long Service and Good Conduct Medal in March 1926, and was subsequently promoted Ordnance Artificer First Class.

The medals are mounted for wear, sold with copied research, and are as follows -

Distinguished Service Medal, G.V.R., M. 4491 C. H. HAZEL, ARMR. MTE., H.M.S. M. 32, E. MEDITERRANIAN; 1914-15 Star, M. 4491 C. H. HAZELL, A. AR. MTE., R.N.; British War and Victory Medals, M. 4491 C. H. HAZELL, ACT. ARMR., R.N.; Royal Navy L.S. & G.C., G.V.R., 2nd issue, M. 4491 C. H. HAZELL, O.A. 2, H.M.S. PEMBROKE.

Condition, contact marks and edge bruising, and severely polished, thus fair to fine