Orders, Decorations and Medals

A rare Naval Diver’s B.E.M. group of six awarded to Chief Petty Officer A. H. Dent, Royal Navy, who was decorated for his valuable work in salvaging gold from the wreck of the ex-liner H.M.S. Laurentic in the early 1920s

British Empire Medal, (Civil) G.V.R. (C.P.O. Augustus Henry Dent, O.N. 215995 (PO.)); Naval General Service 1915-62, 1 clasp, Persian Gulf 1909-1914 (215995 A. H. Dent, Lg. Sea., H.M.S. Philomel); 1914-15 Star (215995 A. H. Dent, P.O., R.N.); British War and Victory Medals (215995 A. H. Dent, P.O., R.N.); Royal Navy L.S. & G.C., G.V.R., 1st issue (215995 A. H. Dent, P.O., H.M.S. excellent), the first better than very fine, the remainder with contact marks and edge bruising, thus nearly very fine (6) £800-1000

B.E.M. (Civil Division) London Gazette 9 December 1924:

‘For meritorious service.’

One of 11 Petty Officer and ratings who were awarded the B.E.M. (Civil Division) under this London Gazette entry for ‘salvage of gold from the wreck of H.M.S. Laurentic’ (T.N.A. ADM 171/61 refers).

Augustus Henry Dent was born in Stowmarket, Suffolk in August 1885 and entered the Royal Navy as a Boy 2nd Class in July 1901. Advanced to Able Seaman in December 1901 and to Leading Seaman in May 1911, he served in the Persian Gulf aboard H.M.S. Philomel in the period 1911-13 (Medal & clasp).

A Petty Officer serving in the battleship H.M.S. Glory by the outbreak of hostilities in August 1914, he remained similarly employed until coming ashore to an appointment at the gunnery establishment Excellent in April 1916 - a period that witnessed the Glory serving on the North America and West Indies Station, prior to participating in operations in the Dardanelles in 1915 and lending support to the Suez Canal patrol in 1916.

Having then returned to sea in the sloop Merlin in the period September 1918 to January 1920, Dent qualified as a Diver and, as cited above, carried out valuable work in salvaging gold from the wreck of H.M.S. Laurentic in the early 1920s, dangerous work that won him the B.E.M. (Civil Division).

Work to recover gold from the wreck originally commenced in early 1917, shortly after the ex-liner, converted for use as an armed merchant cruiser, had been sunk by a mine off Northern Ireland, while carrying 43 tons of gold ingots valued at £5 million - the whole to pay for food, steel and munitions from the United States. With the latter nation’s entry into the war, the Admiralty suspended further salvage operations until peace was declared. Thus the salvage operation was not completed until 1924, by which stage naval divers had recovered all but 25 of the original tally of 3211 gold ingots known to have been in the Laurentic - the divers concerned received a bonus payment of 2 shillings and sixpence for every £100 in gold raised.

Dent, who had been awarded the L.S. & G.C. Medal in September 1918, was pensioned ashore as a Chief Petty Officer in September 1925; sold with copied research including the recipient’s service record.