PHOTOGRAPH: Medals given to Rear Admiral John Leslie Burr, R. N., Captain of the Port of Holyhead, 1902 - 1917, Government House, Porth y Felin.
The Medals are:
Cross of St. Michael and St. George
Member of the Victoria Order
Ashanti Medal 1873 - 1874
Coronation Medal King George V
The M. V. O. was awarded in 1904 when Edward VII visited Ireland.
The medals were in the posession of Mr W. G. Callaghan, Dublin and sold at auction in 2016
John Leslie Burr was born in August 1847, the son of Charles Burr of Luton House, Bedfordshire. Entering the Royal Navy as a cadet in January 1861, he was advanced to Sub. Lieutenant in November 1867 and to Lieutenant in February 1872, in which latter rank he lent valuable service in H.M.S. Argus during the Ashantee War of 1873-74, being twice mentioned in despatches.
Further accolades were to follow in 1879, when he received the thanks of the Foreign Office, Admiralty and Government of Sierra Leone; with command of the Pioneer, he went 700 miles up the Niger with gifts for the Emir of Nupi (Thanks of the Foreign Office and Governor of the Gold Coast), and in the same expedition bombarded and captured Onitsha, settled disputes and re-opened trade (Thanks, together with testimonial plate, from the Africa Company). Advanced to Commander in June 1887, Burr received a handsome piece of plate from the directors of the P. & O. Company for his valuable services when in command of the Porpoise in rescuing survivors of the wreck of the S.S. Bokhara, lost on Sand Island, Pexadores in October 1892.
Advanced to Captain in January 1894, he was awarded the C.M.G. for his command of the Intrepid during the revolutions at Blewfields, Nicaragua and in Honduras in 1899. Situated at the mouth of the River Escondido, Blewfields was an old British settlement and protectorate over the Miskito Indians. With the arrival of many southerners from the United States to escape the Reconstruction after 1865, their presence increased tensions with the British and Nicaraguans and climaxed in 1894 when Santos Zelaya claimed sovereignty over the community. The U.S.A. sided with Zelaya to try and oust the British but the conflict between the American southerners and the Nicaraguan President remained. Blewfields became a hotbed of revolution, into which scenario Burr and the Intrepid were cast in 1899. Placed on the Retired List in August 1902, Burr was appointed Captain of the Port of Holyhead, in which capacity he was awarded the M.V.O. on the occasion of King Edward VIIs visit to Ireland in 1904. Otherwise a J.P. for Anglesey, he was advanced to Rear-Admiral on the Retired List in June 1905 and died at Government House, Holyhead in November 1917
Dim cyfyngiadau/ No Restrictions
Adnau preifat / Private deposit
Os gwelwch yn dda archebwch y dogfenau gan ddefnyddio y rhif cyfeirnod amgen (lle ddarperidd) / Please order documents using the alternative reference number (where provided)
Mae copiau clawr caled o`r catalogau ar gael yn Archifau Ynys Môn ac yn y Gofrestr Cenedlaethol Archifau. Polisi Archifau Ynys Môn yw catalogio yn iaith y ddogfen./Hard copies of the catalogue are available at Archifau Ynys Môn / Anglesey Archives and the National Register of Archives. It is the policy of Archifau Ynys Môn / Anglesey Archives to catalogue in the language of the document.
Cyflwr da /Good condition
Compiled by Amanda Sweet for Archifau Ynys Môn / Anglesey Archives
https://www.dnw.co.uk/auction-archive/past-catalogues/lot.php?auction_id=353&lot_uid=272384
Mae'r holl gofnodiadau sy'n cydymffurfio â pholisi casglu Swyddfa Gofnodi Cyngor Sir Ynys Môn wedi eu cadw /All records which meet the collection policy of the Anglesey Archives have been retained.
Ni ddisgwylir croniadau/Accruals are not expected
