Orders, Decorations and Medals

A Stanhope Gold Medal awarded to David Michael Garner, for bravely rescuing a man and woman from their burning and smoke-filled flats

Royal Humane Society, Stanhope Gold Medal, for 1985, 2nd issue (David Michael Garner, 4 June 1984) by Spink, London, 9ct gold, hallmarks for London 1986, in case of issue, extremely fine £1400-1800

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, The Collection of Life Saving Awards formed by The Late W.H. Fevyer.

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A Liverpool Shipwreck and Humane Society Fire Medal in Bronze and a Certificate of Thanks was presented to David Michael Garner. ‘For having courageously rescued a man and a woman from their respective flats in a converted property in Edge Hill, Liverpool, in which a fierce fire had broken out, on 4th June, 1984’.

It was agreed by the committee of the Royal Humane Society that the rescue performed by Garner was the most deserving of the Stanhope Gold Medal for 1985. A summary of his action reads:

‘A girl screaming for help awakened the Salvor and he looked out of the window of his second floor flat. He saw the girl from the flat below leaning out of her window, from which smoke was coming, and he thought she was going to jump. He telephoned for the Fire Brigade, dressed quickly and ran downstairs to the flat below.

Kicking open the door, Salvor went into the flat which was full of thick smoke. He could see that the living-room was well ablaze, and had to run through this room to get into the back bedroom where the girl was trapped. She was reluctant to leave her bedroom, being afraid of the flames and the smoke in the living-room, and Salvor was obliged to drag her out and take her downstairs and on to the street. Salvor then re-entered the house and kicked open the door of the ground floor flat, which he knew was occupied by an 85-year-old man. Smoke from the fire above was already filling the hallway of this flat, and Salvor found the elderly occupant asleep in his bed. Salvor awakened him and led him outside, and then went back inside again to close the doors of the young woman’s flat so that the fire would not spread up to his own accommodation above.

Merseyside Fire Brigade extinguished the fire, and made a thorough search wearing breathing apparatus. Considerable damage had been done to the living-room by the fire, and the rest of the flat was smoke damaged’.