Cpl John. Taylor Royal Marine
I should be grateful if anyone could clarify a few points concerning a letter sent from Crimea in 1855 and published in a local paper. The letter dated 2 July 1855 was from Corporal John Taylor at Royal Marine Camp, Heights, Balaclava, to his family at Corsley, Wiltshire. He was born about 1821.
The letter states that on a recent parade he was called to the front and given a medal with a blue stripe with white edge together with £10 for “distinguishing service in the field.”
He was discharged from HMS Albion in early 1856 and sent to Woolwich. In 1861 he was a private (RM) on HMS Crocodile moored near the Tower of London. He married a Wiltshire woman the same year. In subsequent censuses he was variously described as: Greenwich/Naval Pensioner or Retired Custom House Officer.
My questions are:
The medal ribbon colours differ from the usual Crimean Medal - was this a separate medal from the Crimean medal?
I have not found in searches any mention of a £10 bounty - can anyone throw any light on this?
When serving on Crocodile his rank was ‘private’ - was he re-employed in a lower grade having earned a pension? He was in the marines when the 1841 census was taken.