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Auction: 23003 - Orders, Decorations and Medals
Lot: 241

Liverpool Shipwreck and Humane Society's Marine Medal, 38mm. issue, Camp & Villaverde reverse (Capt. S. Walters. S.S. "Sachem" For Having Rescued The Crew Of The "Gertrude" 10/10/95), in its original fitted case of issue, extremely fine

Recorded erroneously as a Silver Marine Medal with no mention of it actually being a Camp & Villaverde issue. The Liverpool Shipwreck and Humane Society’s Camp & Villaverde Medal was instituted in 1873 ‘to be awarded to those who were instrumental in saving life at sea’, and the first award was made to Mr. Rawson Post, mate of the George Hurlbut, for rescuing the crew of the barque Olive in a gale in the Atlantic on 12 April 1873. In total 37 silver and 8 bronze medals have been awarded, with the last award made in 1944.

The Liverpool Mercury, Friday May 22 1896:

'BRAVERY AND HUMANITY AT SEA.

At the meeting of the Local Marine Board, yesterday, the members present being Messrs. H. Fernie (chairman), J. H. Worthington J.P., L. Spear, G. Nicholson, C. G. Dunn C.C., and E. B. Drenning, also Lieutenant Macnab R.N.R. (secretary), Captain Henderson (Superintendent), Messrs. R. G. Williams, G. Miller, R. Hobson, and E. G. Williams, awards from the Canadian Government were presented for the services detailed below. It appears that about mid-day of the 11th October last the S.S. Sachem of Messrs. George Warren and Co.'s Liverpool and Boston line, was on her homeward passage, and in lat. 46 39 N.,long 54 4 W. A furious cyclone had just passed over the place, leaving a moderate gale from north-west, but with a tremendous high and confused sea. The officer on look-out descrying some strange looking object in the far distance, Captain Walters at once bore up for it, and soon made it out to be a dismasted wreck, the crew asking by signal to be taken off. She proved to be the brigantine Gertrude, of Halifax (N.S.) which had been dismasted in the cyclone, both her masts had gone, the fore one with all yardsattached still lying over the lee side, and tearing the wreck badly in her tremendous rolling. The deck-houses were all smashed and gone. Nothing daunted by the forbidding appearances of his task, the captain of the Warren Liner determined to make an attempt to save the shipwrecked men, and, having asked for a volunteer crew, the call was at once responded to, and a lifeboat instantly cleared away, and manned by Mr. Stubbs, chief officer (in charge), R. Colins, J. Webb, T. Redmond, C. Maguire, J. Hayes, and O. Dahlstrom, A.B.'s.

All being ready, Captain Walters brought his big ship close to windward of the wreck, and lowered his boat from his own lee side, but even then the risk was great, for in the operation, owing to the excessive rolling of the steamer in that position, the necessity for which was unavoidable, the boat had her rudder broken and lost several cars, &c.; but the crew sticking bravely to their posts, managed to get away on their errand of mercy. Arriving at the wreck, the difficulty of approaching it was extreme, owing to the frantic tossing of the mast-less hull and the quantity of heavy spars floundering about it. Although handling his boat with consummate skill, and backed up by a devoted crew, Mr. Stubbs had an arduous task, his craft narrowly escaped capsizing, and had her port gunwale torn away by a sudden dash against the broken main chains of the wreck. By imdomitable perserverance for over half an hour, however, the whole of the seven persons forming the crew of the ill-fated Gertrude were taken off and safely transferred to the Sachem, which, in the meantime, Captain Walters had adroitly manoeuvred into a positionto leeward of the wreck. Once on board, they received the kindest of treatment, and were all subsequently landed at this port.

For these services the Canadian Government awarded to Captain Walters a handsome pair of marine binocular glasses; to Mr. Stubbs a valuable gold chronometer watch, both suitably inscribed, and a sum of £2 each to the six-men who manned the boat, four of whom attended the meeting. Redmond being away at sea, and Hayes absent through a temporary disablement. Mr. Fernie, in making the presentations, described the rescue and eulogised the conduct of those who effected it under such trying conditions. Captain Walters, on behalf of himself and crew, and Mr. Stubbs having suitably acknowledged the presentations, the public business terminated.

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Sold for
£1,500

Starting price
£400