South Africa medal, 1877-1879

Obverse: Head of Queen Victoria with a diadem, hair tied in a knot (left) Legend: 'VICTORIA REGINA'. Reverse: A lion crouching to drink, a bush behind. Exergue: A Kaffir shield crossed with assegais. Legend: 'SOUTH AFRICA'. Fitted with a cusped bar and buff ribbon with two broad blue stripes near the edge and two narrow inner ones. Bar: '1879.' Inscription on edge: 'T.BEDFORD. S.B.ATTDT. H.M.S. SHAH..'

Thomas Bedford (1856-1912) was born in Portsmouth, the son of James Bedford, a police constable. He joined the Royal Navy as a Sick Berth Attendant on 28 September 1874, in gun boat ‘Rocket’, where he remained until 25 July 1878. In March 1877, under Lieutenant Charles Reynold Harris, ‘Rocket’ was involved in a punitive expedition by local police against a Kimsquit village in Queen Charlotte Sound, British Columbia. This followed the alleged killing of some of the crew of the wrecked American ship ‘George Wright’ in 1873 and resulted in the arrest of the men said to be responsible (they were later released). Between 26 July 1878 and 31 October 1879 Bedford was in HMS ‘Shah’, flagship on the Pacific Station until she came home and was paid off in Portsmouth. During this return voyage, while at St Helena, her commander received news of the British defeat at Isandhlwana and she was diverted to carry troops to Durban. She then contributed men to a naval brigade during the Anglo-Zulu War. Her crew participated in the relief of Eshowe and the battle of Gingindlova. After that Bedford remained in home waters, serving at various training establishments, flagships in home ports and similar institutions. On 1st June 1885, he joined ‘Oregon’, a record-breaking passenger liner, commissioned by the Royal Navy during fears over Russian expansion towards Afghanistan and India. Bedford was made a sick berth steward in July 1885 leaving ‘Oregon’ shortly afterwards to work briefly on training vessel ‘Trincomalee’ and then on ‘Hercules’, flagship of the reserve fleet. From March 1887 to June 1889, he was a sick berth steward in the troopship ‘Crocodile’ which operated between the United Kingdom and India. Later from February 1891 to March 1894, he served in ‘Porpoise’ on the China Station. He was then in the new, pre-dreadnought battleship HMS ‘Resolution’ for just over a year. At various times, he also worked at Haslar Hospital. He retired in October 1896 with a good service record throughout his time in the Navy. He married Margaret Fanny Eyles in Portsmouth in 1885. During the 1901 census, he was living in Portsmouth with his wife and four children and working at the Portsmouth Borough Asylum. By 1911, he was a patient in Portsmouth Infirmary, dying the following year.