Auction Catalogue

27 June 2002

Starting at 10:00 AM

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Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria including the collection to Naval Artificers formed by JH Deacon

Grand Connaught Rooms  61 - 65 Great Queen St  London  WC2B 5DA

Lot

№ 830

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27 June 2002

Hammer Price:
£600

An inter-war posthumous S.G.M. pair awarded to Able Seaman H. Sheldon, Merchant Navy

Sea Gallantry Medal, G.V.R.,
Silver (“Bradboyne”, 6th February 1920); Shipwrecked Fishermen and Mariners Royal Benevolent Society, Silver (A.B., S.S. “Oxonian”, February 6 1920), extremely fine (2) £500-600

A total of 17 Sea Gallantry Medals were awarded to the crew of the S.S. Oxonian for rescuing, in company with the S.S. Monmouthshire, 25 crew members of the stricken Cardiff-based steamship the S.S. Bradboyne on 6 February 1920, six of them posthumously. The incident took place in the North Atlantic and a survivor of the Bradboyne later described the events thus:

‘We were in the midst of a terrific storm, when to our horror, the steering-gear broke and the vessel swung over into the trough of the boiling sea. Very soon she turned over on her side and many of us gave up all hope of being saved. In the meantime, I had sent out a message by wireless for help and we received a number of replies, the first one being from the
Oxonian. We made no attempt to launch our boats but to our joy and amazement two boats were lowered from the Oxonian and came steadily towards us. All the members of the crew, with the exception of the Captain and Chief Officer were got into these boats. Unfortunately one of them was dashed against the Bradboyne and overturned. Most of the men managed to scramble on to the upturned boat, only to be washed off again. Four men again scrambled on the boat keel and these were eventually picked up. The others made an attempt to swim to the Oxonian, including the Chief Officer of that vessel, but not one of them succeeded. The other boat was got away from the doomed vessel, which had then on board the Captain and Chief Officer. She was driven back on to the Bradboyne and came so close as to enable the Captain and Chief Officer to jump into her.’

This statement was subsequently recorded in the minutes of the Shipwrecked Fishermen and Mariners Royal Benevolent Society, which body elected to likewise present the 17 boat crew members from the
Oxonian with their Silver Medal, for their extraordinarily gallant effort in reaching the stricken Bradboyne and bringing away 25 of her crew. Indeed the same body later voted the attempt as the most meritorious and deserving case of the year.