Description
Physical description
neck badge in case of issue
History note
Paymaster Rear-Admiral Sir (Henry Wilfred) Eldon Manisty (1876-1960) entered the Royal Navy in 1894 as an assistant clerk on HMS Ramillies. In 1896 he served as one of the 'Secretary's Cleks' on HMS Centurion, the flagship of the C-in-C China. Appointed Assistant Paymaster, he landed with the Naval Brigade for the Pekin Relief Expedition in 1900 where he was on board HMS Centurion (390 medals were issued with Relief of Pekin clasp to this ship) and was specially promoted to the rank of Paymaster on 5 October 1903 for services in China. He was promoted to Staff Paymaster in 1907, and qualified as a Barrister at Law (Gray's Inn) in 1908. He was Secretary to Admiral Commanding Coastguard and Reserves 1905-1910. In August 1910 he accompanied Admiral Sir Reginald Henderson on his mission to Australia to advise on Australian Naval Defence. At the end of the mission, he was made Finance Member and Naval Secretary of the Australian Board of Administration in April 1911 and was one of the people responsible for both the founding of the Royal Australian Navy and enabling the fleet to be in a state of readiness for war in 1914. He returned home in that year, having been promoted Fleet Paymaster in 1911.
He served in the First World War as Organizing Manager of Convoys, Admiralty Naval Staff, 1917-1919, being awarded the CMG in 1916 and the CB in 1919. According to Earl Jellicoe's 'The Submarine Peril' (London: Cassell, 1934) , p. 34: 'The "Organizing Manager of Convoys," who was Paymaster-Captain Eldon Manisty, R.N., appointed June 25, 1917. He controlled all sailings of convoys, and arranged programmes of their assembly, sailing and dispersion. He also detailed escorts and Commodores, and acted generally as the Executive Authority of the system. The successful working of the system was to a very large extent due to his clever brain and his great organizing ability. He started the organization, arranged the creation and work of the staff, co-operation with the Ministry of Shipping and organization at the ports at home and abroad. No words of mine can adequately eulogize the exceeding value of work which he initiated and carried out.'
He held the appointments of Deputy Judge Advocate of the Fleet 1925-27, and Paymaster Director General at the Admiralty 1929-32, for which services he was made a Knight Commander of the Bath (Military) in 1932. Placed on the retired list in 1932, he was recalled for service in 1936, becoming Head of Convoy Section, Ministry of War Transport, 1939-42. He retired in 1946.
This medal group was bought with the assistance of a gift made in memory of Admiral Manisty's elder son, John Collingwood Manisty (1912-1989) - code-breaker, mathematician and schoolmaster. The Admiral's papers are held in the museum's Documents section (92/41/1 & 1A) and the National Portrait Gallery holds a photograph of him taken in 1919 (NPGx85351).