Egypt War Medal 1882-89

Egypt at that time, was a semi-autonomous province of the Ottoman Empire. The local ruler, the Khedive Ismail Pasha, ran up heavy debts from developing local infrastructure, including the Suez Canal. This led to the imposition of British and French financial control. During the rule of Ismail’s son Tawfik, there was a nationalist uprising under Ahmed Urabi. The nationalists took over and began fortifying Alexandria. A British fleet including 'Monarch',.bombarded and then occupied the city, After the British had put the uprising down and established a de facto protectorate in Egypt, they became involved with Mahdist Islamic and nationalist combatants opposing Egyptian rule in Sudan. Following a Mahdist defeat of British and Egyptian forces and the siege of the Red Sea port of Suakin, a counter expedition was landed in Suakin on 6th February 1884. Precious took part in this campaign while on the books of HMS ‘Euryalus’, participating in subsequent battle of El-Teb on 29 February 1884 and a follow-up action at Tamai on the 13th March.

John Precious’s service record indicates that he was born in Howden, Yorkshire in 1850 and enlisted in the Royal Marine Artillery in nearby Hull on 5 February 1879. However, his birth details are not confirmed in other civil records. His occupation at the time of enlistment is given as 'Fireman'. After the campaign in Egypt and Sudan, Precious joined the newly commissioned ‘Phaeton’ in April 1886 serving in the Mediterranean until she was paid off in 1890. He was invalided out of the service on 11 February 1891.