NAVAL WAR MEDALS
I have given military war medals preference over those awarded for naval service, not because I do not recognise the first line of defence as worthy of priority, for, as I have pointed out, the first medals of which we have any record were probably given as mementoes of, or as rewards for, the defeat of the Armada, but because the variety given for land service is considerably greater, and, in many instances, as a naval contingent also participated, it enabled me to deal with the historical aspect out of hand, a necessity which the concise nature of the book demands.
The Armada Medals.—The story of gallant Drake, Frobisher, and Hawkins is perennially fresh in the minds of every Briton, and how the wind came to their aid and practically destroyed the 120 mighty galleons of Spain, while the flower of her nobility, with 30,000 men, were killed in battle or drowned. I have already referred en passant to the medals issued in the latter part of the sixteenth century. The "Ark-in-Flood," a very handsome oval medal, is one of the most striking of the Elizabethan series (see facing page [270]), and a particularly fine one is in the possession of W. R. Parker-Jervis, Esq., who inherited it from his aunt, Lady Forester. The medal was given to Lord Uppingham after the defeat of the Armada in 1588, and it is on record, in a book at Woburn Abbey, that this medal was awarded to Admirals and Commanders who took part in the battle, and was worn by them as a badge. Pinkerton states that it was given, in gold and silver, to Marine Commanders as a mark of royal approbation, and I think we have sufficient evidence that it was given to the leading spirits of the Armada. This medal differs in several respects from the one described on page [2], for while on the one referred to above there are rays behind the head of Elizabeth and it is framed in laurel leaves with a twist of rope as suspender, that referred to in the beginning of the book has only the simple beaded border, the only embellishment being a fancy scroll on either side of a double ring suspender, and the motto reads ELIZABETH · D · G · ANGLIE · F · ET · HI · REG. It will be noted on comparison that the stops between the letters in the Uppingham medal are round instead of diamond-shape as on the simpler medal. James I, as I have previously described, issued a medal very similar. These were, it may be presumed, suspended from the neck, but medallions were sometimes worn in the hat.
COMMONWEALTH MEDAL FOR DUTCH WARS, 1653.
ELIZABETHAN NAVAL MEDAL.