Mountbatten Medallic History of Great Britain and the Sea Medal:'Henry Grace A Dieu'

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Mountbatten Medallic History of Great Britain and the Sea Medal:'Henry Grace A Dieu'

AssociatedAssociated with Lord Mountbatten of Burma (Frogmore House, Windsor, England, 1900 - 1979)

Medallist John Pinches, Medallists

DateMay 2004

Object NameMedal

MediumSterling Silver

ClassificationsMedals

Dimensions44mm

AcquisitionPresented in 2004 by Dr Joan M Burrell.

LocationView by Appointment - Aberdeen Treasure Hub

Object numberABDMS072500.3

Keywords

About MeHenry VIII was the first British monarch to provide an administrative framework for the fleet, and his great ships were the first to have heavy guns mounted broadside. The earliest 'great ship' to carry considerable armament was the Mary Rose, but the most famous was the Great Harry, as the Henry Grace à Dien was called. She was launched in 1514 at Woolwich, rebuilt in 1540, and accidentally burnt in 1553.

It has been said that in this period can be seen the birth of English naval power, so the first medal in the collection portrays the celebrated Great Harry. Built partly to impress the French, it was probably the ship in which Henry intended to set out from Dover to meet Francis I of France at the Field of the Cloth of Gold, though it is unlikely that he actually did so, because the vessel drew too much water for the shallow harbour at Calais.

Henry VIII earned himself the name of Father of the Royal Navy through building ships such as this and through his establishment of the Navy Board. He had a genius for administration and a passion for efficiency. Without his work in centralising and rationalising the organisation of the navy his daughter, Queen Elizabeth I, might never have defeated the Armada; and the enormous burst of discovery and colonisation in the 16th and 17th centuries might not have taken place.

The Great Harry was a four-masted ship of 1,000 tons with two decks of guns. She carried 49 heavy guns, 21 of brass, and about 75 smaller pieces such as culverins, falcons, serpentines or sakers. Most of these were placed on the poop or forecastle and many were of the older built-up type with detachable chambers, although some of the demi-cannon were of the new cast iron type which was to predominate. She also carried 2,000 bows and 4,000 sheaves of arrows.

Her crew was composed of 400 soldiers, 260 mariners and 40 gunners. In a well-known picture Holbein shows her carrying Henry VIII to meet the King of France. She was certainly regarded as the flagship and must have been a splendid sight with fifty-yard streamers on her main mast and a multitude of banners on the others.

The Mountbatten Medallic History of Great Britain and the Sea, John Pinches Medallists Ltd.