Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

‘Rose of Ipswich’ Life Saving Medal, circular, engraved, obverse inscribed, ‘Ben Dale Senr. Memento for Gallantry; In saving Crew of Schooner “Rose” of Ipswich. 30th March 1901’; reverse inscribed within a wreath of laurel, ‘Let not the deep swallow me up’, 39mm., silver, with ornate suspension, in case, good very fine £150-200

Ben Dale Senior served as Second Coxswain of the Harwich lifeboat, 1881-1890 and as Coxswain, 1890-1905.

He was awarded a privately produced Lifesaving Medal for his part in the rescue of the crew of the Rose of Ipswich on 30 March 1901. On that day the Harwich steam lifeboat, the City of Glasgow, received a message from Felixstowe, that a gale was blowing from the south accompanied by heavy sea and that a schooner was aground on the St. Andrew’s Bank and flying signals of distress. The lifeboat left her moorings at 9.10am and found the stranded schooner, which was bound for Ipswich, laden with granite from Guernsey. Seeing that the ship would inevitably become a wreck, the crew of four were, with difficulty, taken into the lifeboat and safely landed at about 11.45am.

Ben Dale Senior died in May 1909. In addition to the above, he had also been awarded the Silver Medal of the South Holland Society for Rescue from Shipwreck for his part in the rescue of the crew of the Ingerid, of Rotterdam in 1881.

A similar medal awarded to another member of the crew was sold in D.N.W. 6 December 2006, lot 670.

With copied census extracts and newspaper extracts detailing the rescue and presentation of medals; and a copied photograph of the recipient wearing his two medals.