Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

A fine Life-Saving group of five awarded to Captain G. Davies, Royal Navy, later Chief Constable of Cambridgeshire, for his outstanding gallantry and service spanning over 38 years with the Royal Navy and H.M. Coastguard

Royal National Institute for the Preservation of Life From Shipwreck Medal, silver, type 1 1824-62, obverse: head of King George IV facing left (Lieut. Geo. Davees [sic] R.N. Voted 17 Apr. 1839), engraved in upright serif capitals, with integral band, eyelet suspension, and riband ring; Royal National Institute for the Preservation of Life From Shipwreck Medal, silver, type 1 1824-62, obverse: head of King George IV facing left (Lieut. Geoe. Davies R.N. Voted Dec 17 1840), engraved in upright serif capitals, with integral band, eyelet suspension, and riband ring; Lloyd's [of London] Large Silver Medal for Life-Saving, 73mm, set in a contemporary silvered frame, the rim engraved 'To Captain George Davies. Royal Navy.', with lunettes, these loose; France, Kingdom, July Monarchy 1830-48, Ministry of the Merchant Marine and Colonies Life Saving Medal, 1st 'large' type, with wreath, 41mm, gilt, reverse embossed 'A Davies (Georges) Lieutenant de la Marine Anglaise,1835', pierced as issued and subsequently plugged; France, Kingdom, July Monarchy 1830-48, Ministry of the Merchant Marine and Colonies Life Saving Medal, 2nd 'small' type, with wreath, 37mm, gilt, reverse embossed 'A Davies Lieutenant de la Marine Royale Anglaise, 1839', pierced as issued and subsequently plugged, generally very fine, an extremely rare combination (5) £1600-2000

Provenance: J. B. Hayward R.N.L.I. Collection, November 1995.

George Davies was born in Wells, Somerset, in December 1800, and entered the Royal Navy as a 1st Class Volunteer in June 1813, serving in H.M.S. Ajax (74 guns). In that ship he assisted, while at the siege of St. Sebastian, in taking the island of Santa Clara, and was present, as a Midshipman, at the blockade of Rochefort and of Toulon, the surrender of Marseilles, and the capture of a vast number of the enemy's armed and other vessels. Joining next the Queen Charlotte (100 guns), he took part in the bombardment of Algiers, 27 August 1816, and on that occasion he particularly attracted the notice of his Commander-in-Chief, whose orders he was throughout the action employed in conveying to the different ships of the fleet. The boat he commanded was frequently under the necessity of being partially re-manned, in consequence of the great loss of her crew killed and wounded. In 1817 he proceeded to St. Helena in H.M.S. Sappho (18 guns) to guard the exiled Emperor Napoleon, before transferring to the Seringapatam, in the boats of which he assisted in the capture and destruction of various pirate vessels in the West Indies. Subsequently serving in H.M.S. Naiad (46 guns) in the Mediterranean, he contributed to the defeat of the Algerine corvette Tripoli (18 guns), 31 January 1824, and also to the destruction of a 16-gun brig moored alongside the walls of the fortress of Bona, in which there was a garrison of about 400 soldiers, who kept a tremendous fire onto the deck, 23 May 1824; afterwards, in charge of the ship's barge, he brought out a piratical mistico from the island of Hydra. Re-joining the Seringapatam, he frequently landed, at the head of a division of Seamen, in order to co-operate with the marines of both the Seringapatam and Revenge in hostilities against the pirates of other Greek settlements in the Archipelago. Promoted for his gallantry at Bona to Lieutenant in June 1826, he returned to England, and was appointed to the Coastguard in July 1832. Later that year he was awarded his first R.N.I.P.L.S. Silver Medal for the rescue of the sole survivor of the sloop Dartmouth, wrecked at Rye, Sussex, the citation reading: '11th November 1832: The sloop Dartmouth was wrecked at Camber, near Rye, Sussex, and her Master and five others were drowned. Lieutenant Davies and six other men put off in a fishing vessel, but were driven back by the extraordinary violent weather. They carried the boat along the shore to a more convenient position and launched again to rescue the solitary survivor clinging to the rigging.'

In 1835 he was involved in the rescue of the crew of a French vessel, for which he was awarded the French Ministry of the Merchant Marine and Colonies Life Saving Medal. Between November 1836 and March 1840 he was in command of H.M. Revenue cutter Tartar, in which he was successful in capturing 15 notorious smuggling vessels, besides making numerous other seizures and many valuable salvages, often at great risk to his life, for which he twice received the Thanks of Lloyd's of London, and received his second R.N.I.P.L.S. Silver Medal and a second French Ministry of the Merchant Marine and Colonies Life Saving Medal for the rescue of the French brig Le Jean Marie, the citation reading: '11th March 1839: The French brig Le Jean Marie from Bordeaux was in danger of being wrecked near Swanage, Dorset, with her Master and seven men on board. Lieutenant Davies and two men put off in a boat and brought the brig to port.'

Returning to the Coastguard at Littlehampton in March 1840, he was awarded his third R.N.I.P.L.S. Silver Medal for saving the crew of the brig Victoria, the citation reading: '13th November 1840: In an extremely violent storm, the brig Victoria was driven ashore near Littlehampton, Sussex, with a crew of nine who drifted a line ashore. Lieutenants MacNamara and Davies, with their men, hauled a small boat out to the wreck three times and saved all the brig's crew.'

Promoted Commander in January 1842, Davies was appointed Inspecting Commander, H.M. Coastguard, of the Banff district in Scotland in July 1843, where his conduct during the riots following the famine of 1846-57 gained him the highest praise. Other official commendations followed, as well as several wounds sustained in the course of duty. After his term in Scotland finished he went to Penzance as Inspecting Commander, and was promoted Captain in January 1851. That month he was awarded the R.N.L.I. Gold Medal for his gallantry at the wreck of the New Commercial, the citation reading: '12th-13th January 1851: On the morning of the 11th January, the 250 ton Whitby brig New Commercial struck the Brisons rocks off Cape Cornwall, four miles north of Land's End, and broke up immediately in thick fog and high seas. The nine men aboard and the Mater's wife managed to scramble onto a rock shelf, but a massive wave swept seven of the men to their deaths. Captain Sanderson and his wife managed to get back on the rocks. The other man, a mulatto, grasped a piece of wreckage and was later saved by fishermen from Sennen Cove. Captain Davies, meanwhile, had ordered the Sylvia out from Penzance in atrocious conditions and, on arrival at the scene, an unsuccessful attempt was made to take off the two survivors by a small boat; she only just made it back to the cutter which then lay off all night to give the victims hope. Next morning, with the wind having veered a little and the seas slightly calmer, five other boats arrived, one manned by the coastguard, three by fishermen, and the fifth a preventative boat containing Captain Davies and a rocket apparatus. Using this, he managed to fire a line which the two on the rock secured and the Master's wife was hauled aboard but, sadly, she died very quickly from exposure and buffeting. The other survivor, Captain Sanderson, was brought aboard safely and landed at Sennen Cove together with the bodies which had been removed.' For his gallantry on this occasion Davies also received the Lloyd's of London large Silver Medal for Life-Saving.

Captain Davies retired from the Royal Navy in April 1851, and was appointed Chief Constable of the Cambridgeshire, on the establishment of the County Police Force. He died at home in Cambridge, whilst still serving in the Police, in November 1876. For his gallantry and service over a 38 year career in the Navy, Davies was awarded the Naval General Service Medal with clasps for St. Sebastian and Algiers, an early Royal Humane Society Medal, four R.N.L.I. Medals, and the Great Medal of Lloyd's, as well as receiving the latter's Thanks on numerous occasions. In acknowledgement of having saved the crews of three French vessels, he was also awarded two gold 'Medals of Merit' and the Legion of Honour (although the regulations at the time did not permit him to accept the last award). Few other individuals can have received such a wealth of medals for the saving of human life over such a prolonged period.