Egypt War Medal 1882-89

Obverse: Head of Queen Victoria in a diadem and veil (L) Legend: 'VICTORIA REGINA ET IMPERATRIX'. Reverse: The sphinx on an ornamental platform. Legend: 'EGYPT'. Exergue: '1882'. Inscription on edge: 'LIEUT.A.H.OLIVER, R.N. H.M.S.JUMNA'. Suspended from a clasp and blue ribbon with two white stripes. Mounted on a bar with MED1265.

Algernon Hardy Oliver (1855-1934) was born in Marylebone, the son of Admiral Richard Aldworth Oliver RN. Algernon joined ‘Britannia’ as a naval cadet on 16 September 1869, later training on HMS ‘Bristol’ and ‘Ariadne’. Oliver reached the rank of midshipman on 20 September 1871. On 18 September 1872, he joined the new battleship ‘Invincible’ and was stationed in the Mediterranean where she engaged in a blockade of the Spanish coast in 1873. He transferred to ‘Lord Warden’ in 1874 and was back at Portsmouth in the ‘Duke of Wellington’ later that year. On 10 June 1874 he served briefly HMS on ‘Monarch’, which rejoined the Channel Fleet following a refit during that year. In October he moved to ‘Audacious’ which travelled out to the Far East to act as flagship on the China Station. Oliver was promoted Sub-Lieutenant on 20 March 1876, shortly afterwards returning to the United Kingdom for further education and training. In June 1877 he joined the new armoured cruiser ‘Shannon’. She was slow and suffered technical problems during Oliver’s service, ending prematurely a spell on the China station in 1878. The following year ‘Shannon’ was sent out to the Pacific Station based at Esquimalt. Oliver was promoted Lieutenant on 7 February 1780. He moved to ‘Pelican’ in the same month while both ships were operating on the west coast of South America. ‘Pelican’ visited Honolulu and Tahiti during that year and returned to the UK in February 1882. He was assigned to ‘Valiant’, First Reserve Guard Ship for Southern Ireland in mid- 1882, during which time time, she suffered a collision with HMS ‘Defence’ in Lough Swilly. From the 14 October 1882 he served in ‘Jumna’ which transported troops during the 1st Sudan War, for which he was awarded the Egypt War Medal and Khedive’s Star. The rest of his career was uneventful and spent in home waters - the last five years in the coastguard. He retired with the rank of Commander on 27 September 1900.
He married Mary Beatrice Oliver on 14 November 1895, at St Paul’s, Knightsbridge. They had no children.