Admiral Jellicoe's mysterious ribbons

[filfoster]

I began this thread on the 'Medals' forum, supposing ribbons were so closely akin that that forum was more appropriate but that seems to have taken a detour into Admiral Jellicoe's career, instead of focusing on the very unusual circumstances of the ribbons shown on his 'monkey jacket' uniform shown below.

 

I am researching the ribbons worn on the reefer jacket of Admiral John R. Jellicoe at the time of Jutland (OK, Skaggerak or what have you for our German folks). He is shown wearing a reefer jacket with the sleeve insignia of his rank as full admiral. There are two rows of ribbons which appear to have two odd features. I make these ribbons to be:

first row:          Victorian Order  +  Order of the Bath  +  Egypt campaign medal

second row:    3rd China War campaign medal + Prussian Red Eagle order  +  Khedive's Star

 

The two odd things:  The Bath ribbon should precede the VO ribbon. Two clues that it's the Bath ribbon: It's wider than the other flanking ribbons and a solid color, which corresponds to the ribbon shown below. The precedence rules would have the Bath as the first ribbon. According to the rules that I have, there isn't any other ribbon of a solid color that he might have worn in this place, or 'mis-place' as it happens, save a Knight of St. John, (solid black ribbon), which I find no evidence that he was.

The second odd thing: Wearing the Prussian Red Eagle Order ribbon in 1916 (He had been awarded the RE 2nd class with swords - fairly high class of this- for his heroism in China, in a joint forces operation). It wasn't unknown to continue to wear belligerant nations' awards, as Robert Massie describes Admiral Christopher Cradock defacing his own Prussian ribbon with ink rather than removing it. Since this jacket (Jellicoe's reefer jacket) still exists in the collection of the UK National Maritime Museum, the Red Eagle ribbon mystery has been solved. He did wear it after the war began. This jacket as it exists now. has additional ribbons, but retains the Red Eagle ribbon. The Bath and VO ribbons are also now properly placed relative to each other. 

The remaining mystery is why the Bath ribbon and the VO ribbon were in the wrong precedence in the photo. I'm aware photos of this period were often heavily 'retouched' but other photos, not obviously retouched, taken at the same time, show the same ribbons.

 

 It is very odd that he or his batman or tailor would err twice among only six ribbons, although the Red Eagle retention after hostilities might be explained. Only black and white photos remain and these are not high enough resolution to serve well (The Egypt medal isn't visible in most prints of these photos but can be discerned in a few, such as the one below). 

Edited 3 November , 2019 by filfoster

[Gunner Hall]

I've been hovering over this thread in it's original location for some time.  Not being a medal expert I've hesitated to through in my twopenneth in.  Another strange missing ribbon is his Sea Gallantry Medal.  According to my reading of he regs,  this should be sported after the Victorian Order and before the Eygpt Medal.   The medal ribbon you have identified as the Bath,  is in it's (SGM)  place.    Old Monochrome stock doesn't shown red very well.  It looks black.  I might be imagining it, but is the rogue medal ribbon striped? Could this be the SGM  (I apprciate that the white stripes of this ribbon should be clearer.   If this is the case, could it be that he was expecting to wear the Bath as the neck ribbon or star (breast) version? 

[filfoster]

Gunner Hall: Thanks for that. Yes, the Sea Gallantry could have been worn here.  And, yes, the old photos play tricks with light/dark, e.g. how yellow often looks very dark, which probably explains why the China War medal gold/yellow stripes can't be discerned on that one. The Sea Gallantry medal strikes me as very likely but the difficulty with saying for sure that this is what the above medal ribbon is, lies in the lack of the white stripes, as you note, which would probably show and the extra width of the center ribbon, like the width of the Bath ribbon. The Sea Gallantry ribbon is the 'standard' width.  Still, your suggestion is a good one and well-considered. I just can't bet on it because of the stripes and width. Placement would be OK.

 

For what it's worth, the extant jacket in the UK National Maritime Museum collection doesn't have the Sea Gallantry ribbon either. You'd think he'd have been proud enough of it to wear it.

t.

Edited 5 November , 2019 by filfoster

[Gunner Hall]

Yes, it's a rare and distinquished honour.   you would think he would be keen to wear it.  I suppose its equivilent to someone not wanting to show a QGM,  now. 

 

I didn't know that the Bath has a wider ribbon,  you learn something every day!

[filfoster]

OK, here's what I believe Jellicoe is wearing in the photos August 1914-May 1916:  Note the relative width of the Bath ribbon.

Edited 16 November , 2019 by filfoster