The Great War D.S.M. group to Able Seaman James Fortune, Royal Navy: Distinguished Service Medal,

The Great War D.S.M. group to Able Seaman James Fortune, Royal Navy: Distinguished Service Medal, George V (214738. J. FORTUNE, A.B. SEIGE GUNS. BELGIUM.), official alterations to service number and to 'BELGIUM', good very fine; 1914-15 Star (214738, J. FORTUNE, A.B., R.N.), good very fine; British War Medal 1914-20 and Victory Medal (214738 J. FORTUNE. A.B. R.N.), the latter with copy M.I.D. emblem, good very fine and very fine, mounted for display. [4]

D.S.M. and M.I.D. London Gazette 07/08/1915

James Fortune was born in Millwall, London, in December 1883. He joined the Royal Navy in 1901, and served for 12 years before briefly transferring to the Royal Fleet Reserve in December 1913. He returned to the Royal Navy in August 1914, and among other postings, he served ashore with the 'Royal Naval Siege Guns' in Belgium, manning the heavy naval guns that were used in counter-battery fire. His D.S.M. was gazetted below the awards of the D.S.C. to two officers of the R.N.S.G. for bravery on the 28th of April 1915 when they removed ammunition from a burning building under "heavy and accurate fire from hostile artillery". It is probable that Fortune's D.S.M. was awarded in connection with the same incident. James Fortune was killed in action in the destroyer H.M.S. Strongbow on the 17th of October 1917. Strongbow had been escorting a convey of merchant vessels from Norway when she was attacked and sunk by the German light cruisers Bremse and Brummer.