Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Alaska Pacific Steamship Company’s Medal for Bravery, gilt, the reverse engraved ‘Presented to J.M. Callfas, Chief Engr. by Alaska Pacific Steamship Co. in testimonial of Bravery on board S.S. Buckman Aug. 21. 1910’, nearly very fine and scarce £300-400

Provenance: Buckland Dix & Wood, October 1993.

J. M. Callas was awarded the Alaska-Pacific Steamship Company’s Medal for Bravery for his gallantry when his ship, the S.S. Buckman, was hijacked by armed robbers on 21 August 1910:

‘The S.S. Buckman was a small vessel of about 1,260 tons with accommodation for some 200 passengers. On the night of 20th - 21st August 1910 it was on a routine voyage from Seattle to San Francisco, some 15 to 20 miles from land. It was known that the vessel occasionally carried gold dust on its journeys south from Alaska to the San Francisco Mint. For this voyage two men, Fred West and an accomplice George Wise, had heard a rumour that this was so and decided to steal it. They joined the ship at Seattle, armed with a shotgun and revolvers. Their plan was simple. During the night, when most on board would be asleep, they would take over the bridge and order the ship to be steered towards land. While it was headed there they would take the gold and other valuables and lock up the crew and passengers. When the ship ran aground they would jump over the side, escape over land, and be far away before the alarm could be raised.
During the early hours of the 21st August they entered the wheelhouse with a story about a lost pocket-watch and demanded to see the Captain immediately. The demand was rejected, whereupon they produced their weapons and ordered the quartermaster to steer the ship towards land. At this time the Captain was asleep in his cabin beside the wheelhouse. He heard the argument and was coming out with his revolver when West entered the cabin and shot and killed him.
In the wheelhouse the noise of the shots momentarily distracted Wise, who was guarding the ship’s watch crew. Taking advantage of this, one of them grabbed the whistle cord and blew a long blast and sounded the alarm. This brought the other members of the crew (about a dozen) on deck but as they reached the bridge West held them at gun point and lined them up along one side, threatening to shoot them if they disobeyed.
Meanwhile, down in the engine room the crew there heard the alarm and, in the absence of any instructions from above, they shut down the engines. Chief Engineer Callfas then went up on deck to see what was happening. He was confronted by West who ordered him to join his other prisoners. Instead, Mr. Callfas ran to the side of the bridge, ignoring the gun, and jumped over the rail to the deck below. West abandon his row of prisoners to run after him, and immediately they escaped in all directions. Wise also ran away and hid himself.
By this time the ship had come to a standstill. Some of the crew had also acquired guns and there was further shooting but without further casualties. West now realised any escape by land was impossible. He ran from the bridge, took hold of a life-jacket, and jumped overboard. The ship was still many miles from shore and he was never seen again.
The ship was searched and Wise was found hiding below decks. he was arrested and brought to San Francisco. Although he had played only a minor part in the hijack he was ruled to have been equally guilty of the murder and was charged as such. However, the court considered him insane and he was committed to a mental institution, where he died a few years later.
At the enquiry held in San Francisco after the affair, practically every crew member who gave evidence admitted that, had it not been for Mr. Callfas ignoring the threat from West’s gun and jumping from the bridge, thus enabling the others to escape, the hijack might well have succeeded. of course, the initiative of Callfas and his engine room crew in shutting down the ship’s engines was also a significant factor in thwarting it.’ (Sea Classics, July 1991 refers).

Sold together with copies of various contemporary newspaper accounts of the incident, and a photograph of the ship.