thedrifter
10-22-08, 04:20 AM
Hero's medal marks Trafalgar Day
A rare medal awarded to a Royal Marine who lay wounded alongside Lord Nelson at Trafalgar has gone on display marking Trafalgar Day.
The Naval General Service Medal was awarded to Lt Lewis Buckle Reeve, who was on board the Admiral Nelson's HMS Victory in the battle in October 1805.
Lt Reeve, treated by Nelson's surgeon, survived to fight again, retiring in 1817. He died in 1861, aged 75.
His medal is now on display at the Royal Marines Museum in Portsmouth.
It recently became available via an auction house and was later secured by the museum - which feared it would leave the country - for £41,000.
The National Heritage Memorial Fund contributed £28,000 to the purchasing price.
The medal is on show in the museum's Trafalgar exhibition.
Carole Souter, chief executive of the National Heritage Memorial Fund, said: "This medal is a rare reminder of the role played by a Royal Marines Officer, only one of four on board Victory, alongside Lord Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar."
Lt Reeve, who was born in East Meon, Hampshire, in 1786, joined the Royal Marines in 1804.
After recovering from his wounds, he went on to fight in Senegal in 1809 against the French and served aboard HMS Minerva.
He died at Douglas, on the Isle of Man, in May 1861.
Ellie
A rare medal awarded to a Royal Marine who lay wounded alongside Lord Nelson at Trafalgar has gone on display marking Trafalgar Day.
The Naval General Service Medal was awarded to Lt Lewis Buckle Reeve, who was on board the Admiral Nelson's HMS Victory in the battle in October 1805.
Lt Reeve, treated by Nelson's surgeon, survived to fight again, retiring in 1817. He died in 1861, aged 75.
His medal is now on display at the Royal Marines Museum in Portsmouth.
It recently became available via an auction house and was later secured by the museum - which feared it would leave the country - for £41,000.
The National Heritage Memorial Fund contributed £28,000 to the purchasing price.
The medal is on show in the museum's Trafalgar exhibition.
Carole Souter, chief executive of the National Heritage Memorial Fund, said: "This medal is a rare reminder of the role played by a Royal Marines Officer, only one of four on board Victory, alongside Lord Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar."
Lt Reeve, who was born in East Meon, Hampshire, in 1786, joined the Royal Marines in 1804.
After recovering from his wounds, he went on to fight in Senegal in 1809 against the French and served aboard HMS Minerva.
He died at Douglas, on the Isle of Man, in May 1861.
Ellie