Miniature Medals

A rare ‘Animal Life Saving’ pair awarded to Ronnie O’Hara for rescuing a dog at Middlesbrough docks

P.D.S.A. Gallantry Cross, in gilt metal and white enamels, the reverse inscribed ‘Ronnie O’Hara, 30-12-1949’; R.S.P.C.A. Life Saving Medal, in silver, the edge inscribed ‘R. O’Hara, 1950’ complete with top suspension brooch ‘For Humanity’; both cased and together with their named presentation certificates, P.D.S.A. certificate inscribed ‘...for courageous rescue of a dog, drowning whilst trapped between a ship and the dockside’; R.S.P.C.A. certificate inscribed ‘...for his courage and humanity in rescuing a dog from British Railways dock at Middlesbrough.’, both certificates have been folded; together with recipients National Registration Identity Card; and several newspaper cuttings regarding the incident, nearly extremely fine and the first scarce (2) £300-400

See Colour Plate V

The following is extracted from one of the newspaper cuttings: ‘Forty dockers shoving with all their strength, prevented the 7,000 ton merchantman Chandpara from crushing to death one of their mates as he went to the rescue of a mongrel dog at Middlesbrough docks yesterday. Ronnie O’Hara, 27, was climbing down an eighteen inch gap separating the ship from the quayside to save the dog drowning twenty feet below.’