Long Service and Good Conduct Medal 1848

Obverse: Head of Queen Victoria with a diadem, hair tied in a knot (left). Legend: 'VICTORIA REGINA'. Reverse: Within a knotted rope starboard broadside view of a ship of the line at anchor. Legend: 'FOR LONG SERVICE AND GOOD CONDUCT'. Suspended from a bar and dark blue ribbon edged with white. Inscribed on edge, 'J.S.DOWELL SH COPRL 1ST CL. H.M.S. MINOTAUR".

John Samuel Dowell (1862-1937) was born in Wyke Regis, Dorset the son of a bootmaker. He was one of seven children and his mother died when he was eight. He briefly worked as one of the crew of ‘Ravensworth’ of Weymouth in 1877 before joining the Royal Navy in 1878. After training, he spent 1879 in the Mediterranean based at Malta, in ‘Hibernia’, ‘Rapid’ and ‘Bittern. An ordinary seaman from 1880, he signed up for ten years’ service. From 14 January 1882 to 25 April 1884 he served in the troopship HMS ‘Jumna’, which mainly operated between India and the United Kingdom via Aden and Suez. By August 1882 she had been diverted to transporting troops for active service in Egypt then she underwent an extensive refit. She then went back to her previous roll. During the war in Sudan in February 1884, ‘Jumna’ transported troops for the defence of the Red Sea port of Suakin. Dowell served in ‘Bacchante’ from 14 April 1885 to 6 November 1888. Following a refit, she became flagship on the East Indies station. She arrived at Rangoon in November 1885 during the Third Anglo-Burmese War, her crew then manned gunboats on the Irrawaddy River. Dowell served as Leading Seaman from June 1886 and later as Captain’s cox. After more than three years cruising the Indian Ocean, ‘Bacchante’ returned to the United Kingdom in late 1888 and her crew were paid off. Dowell was entitled to the India General Service Medal with a bar for ‘Burma 1885-7’, however this is not in the Museum’s collections. He remained in British waters, serving as Ship's Corporal from 20 February 1890. After 21 December 1891 he was stationed at Malta, from 18 November 1892 in the newly-commissioned HMS ‘Melita’ - unusual in having been built in Malta Dockyard. Dowell served on her for the next three years in the Mediterranean. The last years of his career were spent nearer to home until his retirement in 1900 with the rank of Petty Officer 1st Class, after which he joined the Royal Fleet Reserve in Portsmouth.

He returned to his home town in Dorset, where he worked as a school caretaker. He married Mary Ann Randell in Wyke Regis on 2 August 1891 and the couple had two daughters – Nellie Melita Dowell and May Selwood Dowell. Though recalled at the start of World War 1, he was rejected as medically unffit. John Samuel Dowell died at Weymouth.