Orders, Decorations and Medals

Royal National Lifeboat Institution, V.R., silver (Miss Gertrude Rose Prideaux Brune. Voted 2nd October, 1879) with uniface ‘double dolphin’ suspension, good very fine £600-700

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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Ref. Spink Exhibition 1985, No. 64.

‘9 August 1879: A boat capsized in a wind squall off Bray Hill, Padstow Harbour, Cornwall and the occupants were thrown out. At the time, the five young ladies were in their rowing boat which was being towed behind a fishing boat. Asking to be cast off, they rowed through heavy surf to the scene where they saved a drowning sailor and only got him into their boat with the greatest difficulty’ (Ref. Lifeboat Gallantry, by Barry Cox).

Misses Ellen Frances Prideaux-Brune; Gertrude Rose Prideaux-Brune; Mary Katherine Prideaux-Brune, and Beatrice May Prideaux-Brune; together with Miss Nora O’Shaughnessy were each awarded the Institute’s Medal in Silver for this rescue. Sold with copied photograph of the Misses Prideaux-Brune, a copied newspaper report and a later newspaper extract.