British War Medal 1914-18 awarded to Admiral William Oswald Story (1859-1938). Obverse: Head of King George V (left). Legend: 'GEORGIVS V BRITT : OMN : REX ET IND : IMP:' Reverse: A Knight on horseback (right) a short sword in his right hand, trampling on the German shield, skull and cross-bones. Legend: '1914-18': Engraved on the edge: 'ADMIRAL W.O. STORY R.C.N.' Fitted with incorrect incorrect OBE ribbon.

William Oswald Story was born in 1859 at ‘Bingfield’, the family estate, in Cavan, Ireland. He entered the Royal Navy as a cadet in ‘Britannia’ in 1872 and subsequently served in China, Japan, and the islands of the South Pacific.
As a midshipman in ‘Modeste’ he took part in the Perak expedition on the Malay Peninsula in 1875-6. In 1882 he was Sub-lieutenant of the gunboat ‘Mosquito’ during the Egyptian War and was mentioned in despatches and promoted for his gallantry while commanding a landing party at Chalof. As a lieutenant in ‘Dryad’ he took part in operation in the Eastern Sudan in 1884 and was awarded the Suakin clasp to his Egyptian Medal. Promoted to Commander in 1896 and Captain in 1902, he commanded various ships. April 1909 appointed to command the Eastern Coastguard District. After his promotion to Rear-Admiral in 1911, he retired and settled in Guelph, Ontario and during the First World War served as Admiral-Superintendent of the Royal Dockyard at Esquimalt and in 1918 held the same position at Halifax Dockyard. He was promoted to Vice Admiral in April 1917 and Admiral in October 1919 while on the retired list. His shipmates included Edmund Pears and Edward Sandys and he was a close friend of Prince Louis Battenburg (Mountbatten). He died on 14 January 1938.