Badge and Star: Order of St Maurice and St Lazarus, 3rd class

Order of St Maurice and St Lazarus, Grand Officer awarded to Admiral of the Fleet Sir Frederick Charles Doveton Sturdee (1859-1925) - noted in London Gazette 10 August 1917. Badge: White enamel crosslet of St Maurice with green Maltese cross of St Lazarus appearing between the arms. the points are ball tipped. It is suspended by a gold crown from a green ribbon. Star, four silver rays bearing the same design as the badge.

Admiral of the Fleet Sir Frederick Charles Doveton Sturdee was the son of Captain Frederick Ranney Sturdee, RN. He entered the Royal Navy on 15 July 1871. At the beginning of World War I, Vice-Admiral Sturdee was serving as Chief of Naval War staff under Prince Louis of Battenberg. His tenure was marked by the loss of HMS 'Aboukir', Cressy' and 'Hogue' and the defeat of the Battle of Coronel. His old enemy, the new First Sea Lord, Sir John Fisher re-appointed Sturdee Commander in Chief, South Atlantic and South Pacific. He destroyed the German squadron led by Maximilian, Count von Spee off the Falkland Islands on 8 December 1914, avenging von Spee’s earlier victory over the British. Sturdee was granted a baronetcy for this service and commanded the 4th Battle Squadron at Jutland in 1916. He was promoted Admiral in 1917 and to Admiral of the Fleet in 1921 on his retirement.
In later life he became president of the Society for Nautical Research and was active in the campaign to preserve HMS ‘Victory’.

Object Details

ID: MED2424
Collection: Coins and medals
Type: Order
Display location: Not on display
People: Sturdee, Frederick Charles Doveton
Credit: On loan to the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, from a Private Collection
Measurements: Badge: 55 mm
Parts: Badge and Star: Order of St Maurice and St Lazarus, 3rd class
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