WW1 British War Medal - ALFRED GEORGE WALKER - Mercantile Fleet Auxiliary (MFA) – Believed to be a survivor of RMS / HMS ALCANTARA

Reference: MM-MED-0005

You are looking at a very interesting but unfortunately single British War Medal inscribed ‘A.G.WALKER. BUTCHER. M.F.A.’.

The medal was awarded to ALFRED GEORGE WALKER who was a merchant seaman serving with the ‘Mercantile Fleet Auxilliary’ (MFA) during WW1, and is believed to have been a crew member aboard the RMS / HMS ALCANTARA, an ‘Armed Merchant Cruiser’ or AMC, that was sunk in 1916 following a close quarter naval battle with the German raider vessel SMS GREIF, a significant naval exchange that was very heavily reported in the news and resulted in Germany having to reconsider its WW1 naval strategy, by suspending the use of surface raiders, especially disguised ships, breaking through allied naval blockades, and concentrating on submarine warfare that was considered less risky.

ALFRED, the son of WILLIAM and MARY A WALKER, was born on the 21^st of May 1882 at Cocking in Sussex, less than 20 miles north-east of Portsmouth, and he was in the Merchant Navy by 1912, with a record of him serving aboard the ‘Kinfauns Castle’ from February to May that year and where he was employed as an assistant butcher.

ALFRED next appears in two crew lists from 1915, his name recorded as A G WALKER, a butcher by rank / rating, aged 31 and 32 years, with his place of birth recorded in one of the lists as Sussex, and most notably, he is serving as a crew-member aboard the RMS ALCANTARA, a Royal Mail Steam Packet Company vessel acquired by the Admiralty for war service and converted into the role of ‘Armed Merchant Cruiser’.

On the 29^th of February 1916, being aware of a German commerce raider vessel being active in the Atlantic, the ALCANTARA spotted smoke rising from a nearby ship and went to investigate, eventually closing in on a steamer called the RENA that was displaying Norwegian colours. The RENA was in fact the converted German tramp steamer the SMS GREIF, travelling under a false flag, and when the ALCANTARA got to within 1000 yards, the German ship revealed its true colours and its concealed guns and opened fire, with the ALCANTARA returning fire and the two vessels entering into a close quarter battle with each other, during which both ships sustained heavy damage, with the ALCANTARA also being struck by torpedo, and as a result of the damage sustained, both crews abandoned ship and both ships eventually sank.

Heavy losses were sustained by both sides during the battle. SMS GREIF had a complement of around 360 men, of which around 120 were killed and 220 rescued, and the ALCANTARA lost around 69 (72) of its crew, although the true number of casualties differs depending upon what website you visit.

The Captain of the ALCANTARA, although initially criticised for taking his vessel too close to the German ship without establishing its identity, was subsequently awarded the Distinguished Service Order for his role in the battle, with at least two other crew members receiving bravery awards.

Unfortunately, the names of those who were rescued from the ALCANTARA are not recorded in a formal list, so ALFRED being a member of the ship’s crew on the 29^th of February 1916 is based on his appearance in the ALCANTARA crew lists of 1915, but that said, other crew members who were involved in food preparation or employed in associated roles, cooks, chefs, bakers, scullions etc, who also appeared alongside ALFRED WALKER in the 1915 crew lists, four are recorded as casualties of the 1916 naval battle, R FIELDER (Baker), A HARPER (Assistant baker) and ROBERT WILLIAMS (3^rd cook) were killed, and FRANCOIS DESJARDIN (Chef) was slightly wounded, and there were other crew members in other trades who also served aboard the ALCANTARA in 1915 and were also killed serving aboard her in 1916, so it is likely ALFRED was a member of the ship’s crew during the battle, with nothing to suggest otherwise, such as his appearance on another ship.

To summarise ALFRED’S appearances in the 1915 crew lists, he appears twice, one, with the crew list dated the 16^th of January to the 7^th of March 1915, in which his age is recorded as 31 and his place of birth Sussex, and the other crew list dated 1915 only, with no specific dates, and in which ALFRED is simply recorded as 32 year old. ALFRED was born on the 21^st of May 1882, so he would have been 32 years old up to the 20^th of May 1915.

*****NOTE – This medal is being offered for sale in the sellers belief that ALFRED GEORGE WALKER was a crew member aboard the ALCANTARA during the battle with SMS GREIF on the 29^th of February 1916, and potential buyers should take into account the lack of a definitive survivor list or other record confirming has attendance on the ship at the time in question.*****   

SELLER NOTE = Supporting documentation obtained and / or created during my research into this medal will be provided.

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