WW1 Long Service Medal Group of (4) to C.P.O. Cook Halford who served at Jutland aboard HMS Orion
1914-15 Star (347520, G. Halford, S. Ck., R.N.); British War and Victory Medals (347520 G. Halford. Sh. Ck. R.N.); Royal Navy L.S. & G.C., G.V.R., 2nd issue, fixed suspension (347520. G. Halford. C.P.O. Cook. H.M.S. Vivid.)
Mounted as worn, light contact marks, nearly very fine (4)
The dreadnought battleship H.M.S. Orion was launched on 20 August 1910 and was part of the 2nd Battle Squadron at the Battle of Jutland, where she engaged the German battleship Markgraf and the battle cruiser Lützow.
George Halford was born in North Tawton, Devon, on 11 November 1887, and joined the Royal Navy on 5 June 1906. Advanced Cook’s Mate, serving in H.M.S. Trafalgar, 23 February 1907, he was advanced Ship’s Cook on 4 November 1914. He served during the Great War in H.M.S. Orion from 2 May 1915 until 30 November 1919 and was advanced Chief Petty Officer Cook on 17 May 1919. He was awarded his Royal Navy Long Service and Good Conduct Medal on 14 June 1921, and was shore pensioned on 4 June 1928.
With copied record of service; and three photographic images of H.M.S. Orion.
In an attempt to lure out and destroy a portion of the Grand Fleet, the High Seas Fleet, composed of sixteen dreadnoughts, six pre-dreadnoughts and supporting ships, departed the Jade Bight early on the morning of 31 May. The fleet sailed in concert with Hipper's five battlecruisers. Room 40 had intercepted and decrypted German radio traffic containing plans of the operation. In response the Admiralty ordered the Grand Fleet, totalling some 28 dreadnoughts and 9 battlecruisers, to sortie the night before to cut off and destroy the High Seas Fleet.
On 31 May, Orion, under the command of Captain Oliver Backhouse, was the lead ship of the 2nd Division of the 2nd BS and was the fifth ship from the head of the battle line after deployment. During the first stage of the general engagement, the ship fired four salvos of armour-piercing, capped (APC) shells from her main guns at the battleship SMS Markgraf at 18:32, scoring one hit that knocked out a 15-centimetre (5.9 in) gun and killed or disabled its crew. About 19:15, she engaged the battlecruiser SMS Lützow at a range of 18,700–19,800 yards (17,100–18,100 m) with six salvos of APC shells and claimed to straddle her with the last two salvos. These last salvos were actually fired at the destroyer SMS G38 which was screening the battlecruiser and laying a smoke screen. Lützow was also fired at by Monarch during this time and was hit five times between the sisters. They knocked out two of her main guns, temporarily knocked out the power to the sternmost turret as well as causing a fair amount of flooding. This was the last time that Orion fired her guns during the battle, having expended a total of fifty-one 13.5-inch APC shells.
