Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

The Wakefield Gold Medal for the destruction of Zeppelin L15 awarded to Corporal H. J. Penfold, Royal Artillery

The Lord Mayor of The City of London, Sir Charles Wakefield’s Gold Medal, obverse centre Wakefield’s arms within inscription ‘Presented by the Lord Mayor Colonel Sir Charles Wakefield’, reverse, gun and L15 above two scrolls reading ‘Well Hit’ and ‘March 31st - April 1st 1916’, reverse field inscribed with name of recipient ‘Corpl. H. J. Penfold’, 9 carat gold hallmarks for Birmingham 1916, extremely fine £500-600

Provenance: J. Tamplin Collection, DNW, September 2002.

These medals were awarded as the result of a bounty of £500 offered by Sir Charles Wakefield to the first gun’s crew to shoot down a Zeppelin on domestic soil. Due to the fact that a number of gun crews were involved in shooting down the L15, it was decided that the money would instead be spent on the production of gold medals to present to each individual member of the crews involved. The L15 was severely damaged by anti-aircraft fire over London on the night of 31 March - 1 April 1916, and plunged into the sea a mile from the Kentish Knock Lightship shortly after midnight - the 17 survivors were taken aboard H.M.S. Vulture, but not before being stripped naked by order of the ship’s Captain.

Sold with an article on the destruction of Zeppelin L15, by Brigadier H. B. Latham, published in the R.U.S.I. Journal of August 1950.