*British, WWI, Royal Navy, Medal Group of Four — Petty Officer Hazeldine Croad 202089, HMS Bellerophon, Battle of Jutland Veteran*
A fine and complete Great War and Long Service medal group to Petty Officer Hazeldine Croad, Royal Navy, who served aboard the dreadnought battleship HMS Bellerophon during the Battle of Jutland. His Long Service Medal is impressed with the ship name Bellerophon.
Comprising:
1914–15 Star, impressed “202089 H. CROAD. P.O. R.N.”
British War Medal, impressed “202089 H. CROAD. P.O. R.N.”
Victory Medal, impressed “202089 H. CROAD. P.O. R.N.”
Royal Navy Long Service & Good Conduct Medal (George V, pre-1936 bust), impressed “202089 HAZELDINE CROAD. P.O. H.M.S. BELLEROPHON.”
Mounted as worn with original ribbons. Accompanied by a photocopy of his Admiralty service record confirming continuous service 1898–1923 and Jutland participation.
Historical Note:
Hazeldine Croad was born 28 January 1883 in Hayes, Kent, and entered the Royal Navy in November 1898 as a Boy 2nd Class at HMS Boscawen. He rose steadily through the lower deck, serving aboard pre-dreadnoughts and cruisers including Niobe, Leander, Cambridge, Sapphire II, and Forth, before joining the new generation of dreadnoughts in the years preceding the First World War.
By 1914 he was a Petty Officer aboard HMS Bellerophon, part of the 4th Battle Squadron, Grand Fleet, stationed at Scapa Flow. At the Battle of Jutland (31 May – 1 June 1916), Bellerophon was under Vice-Admiral Sturdee and engaged the German High Seas Fleet. She fired 62 rounds from her 12-inch guns, emerging unscathed and without casualties. Her crew thus shared in the largest and most decisive naval engagement of the war, ensuring continued British command of the North Sea.
Following the Armistice, Croad remained in service, later posted to HMS Centaur and awarded his Long Service & Good Conduct Medal — impressed with Bellerophon on the rim, confirming it was earned during his distinguished tenure aboard that ship. He was pensioned in 1923, completing nearly 25 years’ continuous naval service.
Bellerophon herself continued as a training and gunnery ship until 1921 and was sold for scrap in 1927, closing the service of one of the Royal Navy’s pioneering dreadnoughts.
*Condition*
All medals very fine to better, retaining excellent detail and patina. Naming uniformly impressed and legible. Original ribbons clean and presentable. Accompanied by a clear photocopy of Croad’s Royal Navy service record (ADM 188/351/202089). Please see photographs as part of the condition report.
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