East & West Africa Medal 1887-99

Obverse: Head of Queen Victoria in a diadem and veil (left). Legend: 'VICTORIA REGINA'. Reverse: a group of soldiers and Africans fighting in the bush for their fallen comrades. Suspended from a bar, and yellow ribbon with a broad black edge and two narrow black central stripes. Bars: 'WITU 1890', 'BRASS RIVER 1895'. Inscription on edge: 'J. PINNELL, ORD., H.M.S. BRISK'.

John Albert Pinnell (1871-1939) was born in Shoreditch, the son of a paper hanger also called John Pinnell. John followed his father into this trade before he entered the Royal Navy on 19 September 1887 as a boy 2nd class. He served in 'Brisk' as an ordinary seaman the able seaman, between 29 July 1889 to 31 October 1891. This torpedo cruiser was deployed on the East India station, which covered operations in the Indian Ocean. During 1890 crew members of' Brisk' were involved in a punitive expedition against Sultan Fumo Bakari ibn Ahmad of Witu - in present day Kenya. This followed the killing of nine German traders. Boat crews from the ‘Boadicea’, ‘Cossack’ and ‘Brisk’ burned the villages of Baltia and Mkunumbi. A force consisting of a naval brigade, Indian Police and Zanzibari troops then marched on the town of Witu, which was captured and burned. Pinnell then joined HMS ‘Active’ in 1894. She was part of the training squadron, based in home waters. In October that year he moved to the cruiser ‘St George’ and remained in her until 20 January 1897. In 1895, there was an attack on the Royal Niger Company’s headquarters at Akassa in the Niger delta. This was a result of rivalry over control of the palm oil trade with the Nembe kingdom and it led to military retaliation against their inland capital and Fishtown (Ewoama) near the coast. ‘St George’ was the flagship of Rear-Admiral Sir Frederick George Denham Bedford, and her sailors and marines formed part of the landing party. After a brief spell on the books of HMS ’Penelope’, Pinnell was back in ‘St George’ from May 1897 to February 1898. He was in HMS ’Crescent’ when she made a brief tour of the British Isles under the command of Prince George, Duke of York. Pinnell’s service record ends in June 1901 and he joined the Royal Fleet Reserve at Chatham in 1903. He had married Alice Gilbert on 20 February 1898 in Shoreditch and in later life worked as a porter for the General Post Office. He died in Luton where his wife and family were resident.