WW1RN Silver War Badge Stoker II D Bedwell HMS Berwick & Centurion, from Norwich. Mental infirmity

WW1 Royal Navy Silver War Badge issued to D Bedwell, Stoker Class II, lived Catton, Norwich admitted to Asylum after the war

Silver War Badge 33330 was issued to Bedwell, D, Stoker Second Class, and was issued by HMS Pembroke on 20 November 1918.

Unfortunately neither the Royal Navy SWB applications list nor the issue list give Stoker Bedwell’s service number. However, there is only one Bedwell with the initial ‘D’ in the RN medal roll and likewise only a single Bedwell with the initial ‘D’ in the Royal Navy Registers of Seamen’s Services 1848-1939. He can therefore be firmly identified with Donald H Bedwell, Service Number K 50438, who was awarded the Victory Medal and British War Medal for World War I service.

As set out in his Royal Naval service record, Donald Hector Bedwell was born on 9 March 1900 in Norwich, Norfolk. He first saw service aged 18 years 6 days upon mobilisation as Stoker Service Number K50438, and was allocated to HMS Vivid II, which represented the Stokers and Engine Room Artificers School in Devonport. His Last Service Date was 18 December 1918 (which would broadly agree with the issue date of the Silver War Badge) and his Last Ship Served On was recorded as Vivid II.

Stoker Bedwell saw active service on HMS Berwick (a Monmouth class armoured cruiser) from 29 June to 18 August 1918, and on HMS Centurion (a King George V class battleship) between 12 September to 4 November 1918, so probably saw most of his service in the North Sea. His service record indicates that he was Discharged for ‘mental deficiency’; since he was awarded the King's Certificate that would suggest that this was considered to be either attributable to, or aggravated by, active service (The award of the Silver War Badge is not mentioned in his service record but it follows that if he was eligible for the King's Certificate, he was eligible for the SWB). He was awarded naval prize money of £2 15s, presumably for prizes taken whilst aboard Berwick or Centurion.

There is a Royal Naval medical treatment at Sea and on Land 1914-19 record for a ‘Ronald Bedwell’, 18, Stoker aboard HMS Centurion, admitted on 23 October 1918 with mental debility and discharged back to duty on 5 November 1918, passing through Hospital Queensferry. This is presumably the same man, a mistake having been made in the transcription (there is no ‘Ronald Bedwell’ recorded in the Royal Navy Registers of Seamen’s Services 1848-1939).

Donald H Bedwell was the son of John W Bedwell (a fireman on the tramways) and Ruth Bedwell in Norwich, the family living in the parish of New Catton Christchurch. John would have been circa 29 and Ruth about 32 when their son was born. The family were living at 170 Philadelphia Lane and remained there at least until 1911, by which time the schoolboy Donald Bedwell was 11 and his father employed as a main & service labourer for a gas manufacturer). By this time the family had grown to include Blanche Bedwell (9), Elsie Bedwell (8), and Florence Bedwell (also 8).

After his naval service, Donald Bedwell was committed 0n 9 December 1918 to Norwich City asylum, this presumably related to his discharge reason. He was pensioned at 8s 3d a week for one year.

Donald Bedwell’s death was registered, aged 35, in the first quarter of 1936 in the St Faiths Registration district of Norfolk.