Diamond Jubilee Medal, Queen Victoria 1897

Obverse: Bust of Queen Victoria (left). Legend: 'VICTORIA D . G . REGINA ET IMPERATRIX F.D .' Reverse: Within a wreath of roses, shamrocks and thistles surmounted by the Imperial crown. Inscription: 'IN COMMEMORATION OF THE 60TH YEAR OF THE REIGN OF QUEEN VICTORIA 20 JUNE 1897' . Mounted on a bar with three other medals. MED1349-1351. Awarded to Admiral E F Jeffreys CVO. Fitted with a loop, ring and a blue ribbon with two white stripes.

Edmund Frederick Jeffreys (1846-1925) was born in Malta, the son of General Edmund Richard Jeffreys (1809-1889). He entered the Navy just before his 14th birthday in 1860. He was appointed as acting Sub-Lieutenant in ‘Aurora’ in 1867 and served in her on the Great Lakes during the Fenian raids into British North America (now Canada). For this he was awarded the Canadian General Service Medal. He was appointed Lieutenant on 29 April 1867, after achieving the best examination result in navigation and pilotage. Jeffreys served in ‘Torch’ between 5 September 1871 and 25 February 1873 on the West Coast of Africa under Commander Hugh McNeile Dyer. Jeffreys commanded a small punitive expedition in response to an attack on a European-owned boat crewed by Africans - part of the trade on the Congo River. He was unable to rescue the captured crew but burned down the pirate village. He spent 1873 ‘Excellent’ in order to qualify as a gunnery lieutenant. He then joined ‘Hercules’, the flagship in the Mediterranean, until in 1877, he moved to ‘Agincourt’ the flagship of Admiral Sir Edward Commerell. This formed part of a fleet sent to the Sea of Marmara, to forestall a Russian occupation of Constantinople. In 1880, he became commander of ‘Vernon’- the Royal Navy torpedo school. From August 1882 to December 1883, he commanded the -gunboat ‘Condor’ during the Anglo-Egyptian War. Jeffreys was promoted Captain on 30 June 1885 and briefly commanded HMS ‘Hood’ in the Mediterranean. On 18 August 1897, he was appointed Director of Naval Ordinance and Torpedoes at the Admiralty. In 1901, now a Rear-Admiral, he was appointed Senior Officer on the Coast of Ireland. He became a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order, following a royal visit to Ireland in 1903. His last command was in 1904 when he was promoted Vice-Admiral. He reached the rank of Admiral in 1908. He died in Richmond, Surrey.