|
|
|
|
|
LIVERPOOL SHIPWRECK & HUMANE SOCIETY
Instituted 1839 Incorporated 1888 Registered Charity No.
222098 Limited Company No. 27726
|
|
|
|
|
|
THE MARINE MEDAL
William Wyon (1795 -1851) was invited to
design the Society’s first medal and he produced the well known design that
is still used to this day. Wyon was a member of a family of renowned seal
engravers and medallists and the chief engraver at the Royal Mint. There
was a delay in obtaining the first medals because, when work was well
advanced in June 1843 the obverse die broke owing to a flaw in the steel
and Wyon fell ill, and it was not until 1844 that the Society received its
first supply.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
GOLD MARINE TYPE 3
OBVERSE
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
GOLD MARINE TYPE 3
REVERSE
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Until 1874 the Society’s Medal was
awarded only in gold or in silver. Following a succession of heavy gales
the first gold medal was awarded on 21st January 1840 to Captain Collins of
the “Rescius” for remaining by and rescuing the crew of the “Scotia” on
11th January which was on passage from Quebec to Glasgow. The second gold
medal was also awarded for a rescue that occurred one day later when
Captain Clegg of the “Huddersfield” rescued 93 persons from the “William
Huskisson” which was sinking off Holyhead. At the February 1840 meeting a
further gold medal was awarded to Captain C Symonds of the brig
“Plumstead”, the first silver medal was awarded to his mate Dupre for
saving the Captain and crew of the brig “Tropique”, and yet another gold
medal was awarded to Charles Duncan for two separate rescue incidents.
Clearly there was a long delay in the presentation of these awards as the
Society did not receive its first supply until 1844 as previously mentioned.
During the lifetime of the Marine Medal, which has a blue ribbon,
there have been three versions struck. Examples of the first and third type
are known to exist in Gold but so far there have been no sightings of the second
type in Gold. The silver version was introduced at about the same time.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
SILVER MARINE TYPE 1
OBVERSE
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
SILVER MARINE TYPE 1
REVERSE
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The first version of the medal, “Type
1”, has undergone the most changes since its introduction. It began life in
the form of a Medallion of 56mm in diameter. Three styles of the medal are
known to exist:- (i) what the Society calls its 1st class medal which is
frosted and glazed, (ii) the 2nd class medal which is polished and glazed,
and (iii) the 3rd class medal which is polished and unglazed. To the best
of our knowledge they were all made between 1840 and 1867. Details of the
actual rescue used to be engraved on the rim that holds the glass in place
on the Glazed Medallions, but not on the Medallion itself. In contrast the
unglazed version has the details engraved on the rim of the Medallion.
The obverse of the medal has the figure of a sailor kneeling on a fragment
of a wreck rescuing a child and its mother from drowning. In the background
the crew of a boat can also be seen rescuing someone else from the sea, and
in the distance there is a sailing ship. The inscription around the top
third of the medal reads “LORD SAVE US: WE PERISH” and at the base is
written “W. WYON, R.A.”
|
|
|
The reverse side has a wreath of oak
leaves made from two branches with a hen cormorant in the centre with wings
extended and bearing an olive branch in its beak. The bird was copied from
the Liverpool Borough arms and is the “Liver Bird” which sits on top of the
Royal Liver Building at Liverpool’s Pier Head. Between the design and the
rim and fully round the circumference of the medal are the words “LIVERPOOL
SHIPWRECK AND HUMANE SOCIETY 1839”.
Other medals were made for the Society by William’s eldest son Leonard
Charles Wyon (1826 - 1891) in 1862. It is not recorded which medals they
were, but judging by the date, they were probably of the Oval Marine
type.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
SILVER MARINE OVAL
OBVERSE
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
SILVER MARINE OVAL
REVERSE
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The exact date of the introduction of the
Society’s first “medal”, as opposed to the slightly larger
“medallion” is not known; however the Committee considered estimates for
one in January 1861. The earliest known medal bears the date December 1867
and the latest known medal September 1874. The medal is oval in shape and
measures 46mm from top to bottom and 38mm from side to side. The ornate
suspension has a riveted claw to which a Liver Bird of 16mm height is
attached by a hinge. Balanced on the bird’s head and wingtips is a straight
bar slotted to take a 28mm wide ribbon.
The obverse is similar to the Medallion. The manufacturer’s name Yates
& Hess is in place of W. Wyon, and within a 5mm border is the name of
the Society and the date. The reverse has a similar wreath but in place of
the Liver Bird there is a blank space to engrave the recipient’s name and
the date of the rescue. The Society’s name is omitted. The edge still gives
full details of the citation with the exception of the recipient’s name.
The last major change to the Marine Medal was made on 27 January 1871 when
J. Mayer & Co. won the contract to make medals for the Society. They
had been in competition with Elkington & Co. and Warrington & Co.
both of whom struck medals for the Society at certain times. The medal now
became smaller in size being approximately 38mm in diameter. It
subsequently underwent several die type changes but has since remained true
to this design. The alterations involved the method of suspension, the
detail of the moulding both obverse and reverse, the thickness of the medal
flan and the manufacturer. They may have been the result of changes in the
manufacturer and in each case the dates of the changes are not recorded.
The Oval type medal was in process of being replaced about 1872 but the
date of alteration is again not recorded. However at about the same time as
this third type was introduced, the Society also decided to introduce a Bronze
Medal in addition to the Gold and Silver Medals which were the only
types the Society awarded prior to 1874.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
BRONZE MARINE TYPE 3
OBVERSE
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
BRONZE MARINE TYPE 3
REVERSE
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Numbers Awarded: To 1st July 2007 the recorded totals of marine medal
and medallion awards are:- Gold 66 and Gold Bars 7; Silver 2,501 and Silver
Bars 239; Silver “In Memoriam” 51; Bronze 2,051 and Bronze Bars 37; making
a grand total of 4,952 medals awarded for conspicuous gallantry in saving
or attempting to save lives at sea or in rivers, lakes, inland waterways,
etc. Since World War II, when the last Gold Medal was awarded, all
subsequent medal awards have been either in Silver or in Bronze, and the
Society no longer holds any stocks in Gold.
Some interesting gold medal awards: There have been
only three solo awards of the Gold Medal made, all for rescues on the River
Mersey. The first was to Ferry Captain William Thomas Bloor in 1876 when he
received his medal and a Gold Bar. Already the holder of the Society’s Silver
Medal and six Bars, he was involved in several rescues over a twenty year
period and was thoroughly deserving of an award. The second was awarded to
Ferry Inspector Thomas Walker in 1891. He was also frequently involved in
rescues and was already a holder of the Society’s Silver Medal and six
Bars. The third and possibly the odd one out, was awarded to Assistant
School Master Eyton Pritchard Owen in 1893 for rescuing one of three boys
trapped on a sandbank at Crosby. The boys were not identified but the rescued
boy is thought to have come from a prominent Merseyside family.
Probably the most famous of the 66 Gold Medals was the one awarded to
Captain Arthur Henry Rostron for his action on 14th & 15th April
1912 as the Captain of
the “RMS Carpathia”. He won one of nine medals awarded by the Society to
the crew of the “Carpathia” for the “Titanic” incident; the other eight
being Silver Marine Medals. All the Gold Medals awarded to deep-sea rescues
were to Ship’s Captains who showed fine seamanship and professionalism of
the highest order. Three Gold Medals were also issued as a result of enemy
action during World War I and the last was awarded as a result of enemy
action during World War II.
|
|
