Auction Catalogue

25 September 2008

Starting at 10:00 AM

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Orders, Decorations and Medals

Washington Mayfair Hotel  London  W1J 5HE

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Lot

№ 167

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25 September 2008

Hammer Price:
£410

A Lloyd’s Medal for Meritorious Services group of three awarded to Captain George Allen Lanphier, Merchant Navy

British War and Mercantile Marine Medals (George A. Lanphier); Lloyd’s Medal for Meritorious Services, 3rd type, silver (Captain George Allen Lanphier, S.S. “Palma” 18th April 1920) nearly extremely fine (3) £400-450

Ref. Spink Exhibition 1985, No.84.

‘On the 17th April, 1920, at 11.25 p.m. the P. & O. s.s.
Palma (7,632 tons gross), under the command of Captain George A. Lanphier, when homeward bound from Australia .... in the Indian Ocean, received a Wireless Message from the s.s. Australmead (Commonwealth Line, 4,151 tons gross), stating that she was disabled owing to a manila hawser having been washed overboard and fouled her propeller.

The
Palma immediately altered course and found the Australmead at 10 a.m. on the 18th April, and at once lowered a life-boat and passed a hawser to the Australmead, and proceeded to tow her to Mauritius, a distance of 1,218 miles, arrived off port Louis at 5.30 p.m. on the 27th April, where Australmead was handed over to the Harbour tug, as it would have not been safe for two large ships to enter the Harbour at the same time.

Great credit is due to Captain Lanphier himself, for having successfully towed the
Australmead over 1,200 miles in heavy weather without accident to any of his Ship’s company, as doubtless there must have been great danger attached to the working of the hawsers unders such conditions. The tow line parted on the 18th and again on the 20th. ....’

Sold with copied research.