Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

The group of two miniature dress medals named to Captain G. D. Fitzroy, Royal Navy

Baltic 1854-55, unnamed; Royal Humane Society, silver medal (successful), represented by another Baltic Medal, the reverse neatly filed down and engraved with the usual R.H.S. inscription and ‘Lieut. G. Fitzroy. R.N. H.M.S. Termagant, 19 Jan. 1861’, mounted from a top riband bar, good very fine (2) £140-180

Provenance: Spink Medal Circular, No. 9, April 1898 (when sold alongside the recipient’s full sized medals).

Captain George Dartmouth Fitzroy entered the Royal Navy as a Mate in July 1851 and served in the Baltic operations in H.M. Ships Caesar and Majestic, being promoted to Lieutenant in November 1854. Appointed to H.M.S. Termagant in February 1859, he was commended in February 1861 by Rear-Admiral Sir Thomas Maitland for his gallant conduct in jumping overboard in order to save the life of a seaman ‘under circumstances of great peril’, which led to him being awarded the Royal Humane Society’s silver medal under case no. 16,632: ‘At Latitude 6.26.S., Longitude 90.58.W., shortly after the retreat was beaten from evening quarters, Frederick Pringle, Ordinary Seaman, fell overboard from the starboard quarter, and being unable to swim could not reach the life-buoy which had been let down close to him. As the people were nearly all below at the moment of shifting clothing, there was some delay before a lifeboat could be lowered, when Lieutenant G. D. Fitzroy, R.N., jumped overboard, swam to him, and grasped him by the hair as he was sinking. Pringle then seized Lieutenant Fitzroy round the neck and both were sinking, when William Metters, who had jumped overboard immediately after Lieutenant Fitzroy, reached the spot, disengaged Lieutenant Fitzroy, and both kept Pringle afloat until the boat reached them.’

Promoted to Commander in March 1863, Fitzroy was next employed on Coast Guard duties, but in July 1869 he was reported for ‘irregular proceedings’ by Admiral Keppel and tried by Court Martial the following September. His conduct was ‘highly disapproved of’ by the latter and he was ordered to be superceded in consequence. Nonetheless, Fitzroy went on to win the thanks of the Dutch Government in January 1870 for settling a dispute between a Pilot and one of their Captains, and was subsequently placed on the retired list with the rank of Captain. He died in December 1899.

Note: The obverse die used for the Baltic Medal is that which should correctly be used for the Crimea Medal, with the date 1854 below the bust of Queen Victoria; the Baltic Medal used to represent the Royal Humane Society Medal does not carry a date on the obverse. An unusual pair.