(JAs SELF. A.B. H.M.S. ALERT.). Naming is officially impressed in capitals. In silver, measuring 37 mm in diameter, edge nicks, bruised, light contact, original ribbon, better than very fine. Accompanied by copies of his Service Records, along with a description of the Arctic expedition.
Footnote: James Self was born on July 28, 1848 in Shirley, Hampshire, England. He enlisted with the Royal Navy on July 28, 1866 at the age of 18 and is credited with having served in the rank of Able Seaman aboard HMS Excellent (January 1, 1873 to January 6, 1873), HMS Devastation (January 7, 1873 to March 14, 1874) and HMS Duke of Wellington (March 15, 1874 to April 16, 1975), before being assigned to HMS Alert on April 17, 1875, also in the rank of Able Seaman.
In 1874, HMS Alert was taken in hand for conversion to the role of Arctic exploration. Her single-expansion engine was replaced with an R & W Hawthorn compound-expansion engine, it was re-boilered to 60 pounds per square inch (410 kPa), her armament was reduced to four guns and her hull was strengthened with felt-covered iron. Above the waterline it was sheathed with teak, and below it, Canadian elm and pitch-pine. The modifications caused her displacement to increase to 1,240 tons. The British Arctic Expedition was commanded by Captain George Strong Nares, and comprised HMS Alert (Captain Nares) and HMS Discovery (Captain Henry Frederick Stephenson).
The expedition aimed to reach the North Pole via Smith Sound, the sea passage between Greenland and Canada's northernmost island, Ellesmere Island. Contemporary geographers proposed that there could be an Open Polar Sea, and that if the thick layer of ice surrounding it were overcome, access to the North Pole by sea might be possible. Ever since Edward Augustus Inglefield had penetrated Smith Sound in 1852, it had been a likely route to the North. Despite finding heavier-than-expected ice, the expedition pressed on. Leaving Discovery to winter at Lady Franklin Bay, HMS Alert pressed on a further 50 nautical miles (93 km; 58 mi) through the Robeson Channel, establishing her winter quarters at Floeberg Beach. Spring 1876 saw considerable activity by sledge, charting the coasts of Ellesmere Island and Greenland, but scurvy had begun to take hold, with HMS Alert suffering the greatest burden. On April 3rd, the second-in-command of HMS Alert, Albert Hastings Markham, took a party north to attempt the Pole. By May 11th, having made slow progress, they reached their greatest latitude at 83° 20' 26"N. Suffering from snow blindness, scurvy and exhaustion, they turned back. The expedition was rewarded on its return; Nares was knighted, Markham was promoted to captain.
The geography of northern Canada and Greenland is dotted with the names of those connected with the expedition: Nares Strait, Nares Lake, Markham Ice Shelf, Ayles Ice Shelf, and Mount Ayles. The northern most permanently inhabited place on earth, the settlement of Alert at the northern point of Ellesmere Island, was named for the ship. Upon the conclusion of his Arctic service with HMS Alert on December 5, 1876, Self was assigned to HMS Excellent (December 6, 1876 ti April 19, 1877), where he would later achieve the rank of Petty Officer 2nd Class while serving with her. Self was transferred to HMS Osprey (April 20, 1877 to June 3, 1881) and would achieve the rank of Petty Officer 1st Class while serving with her. His Arctic Medal was delivered to him on May 21, 1877 while serving with HMS Osprey. He would conclude his naval service serving with HMS Excellent (June 4, 1881 to November 1, 1881), HMS Trincomalee (November 2, 1881 to May 4, 1885), with returns to HMS Excellent (May 5, 1885 to May 13, 1885) and HMS Trincomalee (May 14, 1885 to December 5, 1886). James Self was discharged from service on July 28, 1886, having served twenty years in the Royal Navy.