Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

The Lloyd’s Medal for Saving Life at Sea awarded to Boatman L. Hennessy, H.M. Coastguard, Hythe, who, as coxswain of the Hythe Lifeboat, went to the rescue of the stricken Benvenue on 11 November 1891- remarkably, this was his second separate rescue effort of the day, having earlier single-handedly rescued the crew of the schooner Eider, for which actions he received a unique pair of R.N.L.I. Silver Medals, as well as also being awarded the Albert Medal Second Class

Lloyd’s Medal for Saving Life at Sea, 1st large type bronze medallion, 73mm (Laurence Hennessy - “Benvenue”, 11th. Nov. 1891.) edge bruise and minor edge nicks, good very fine £500-£700

A.M. Second Class London Gazette 12 February 1892: Lawrence Hennessey, Boatman of the Hythe Coast Guard Station
‘On the morning of the 11th of November, 1891, at 4.45am, when the French schooner Eider was wrecked on the Sea-wall at Seabrook, Lawrence Hennessey was on watch, a heavy gale was blowing and tremendous seas were sweeping the Sea-wall. He obtained a heaving line and cane, and unaided, at the risk of his life, saved the lives of four sailors belonging to the French schooner, which broke up as she struck, and was totally wrecked. The French Ambassador has represented the courageous conduct of Hennessey in saving the lives of the four French sailors on this occasion, at the peril of his own. At 8:00am on the same day, Lawrence Hennessey, as Coxswain of the Lifeboat, attempted to go afloat from Sandgate, but the boat was thrown on to the beach. Again at noon, a whole gale blowing at the time, with a very heavy sea breaking on the beach, Lawrence Hennessey went out in the lifeboat from Hythe; just as the breakers were cleared the lifeboat capsized, Hennessey (with the rest of the crew) being washed ashore in an exhausted condition, one man being drowned. Hennessey, though bruised and exhausted, directly he recovered his feet, ran into the surf and assisted in rescuing his comrades, who were still struggling in the breakers. On the evening of the same day, at 9:00pm, Lawrence Hennessey went out from Seabrook as Coxswain of the Lifeboat, and succeeded in reaching the wreck of the Benvenue and rescuing the twenty-seven survivors, subsequently taking the lifeboat safely to Folkestone.’

Lawrence Hennessey, a Boatman with the H.M. Coastguard, Hythe, was, along with Commissioned Boatman Albert Sadler, awarded the Lloyd’s Medal for saving life at Sea, as well as the Royal National Lifeboat Institution’s Silver Medal, for their gallant rescue of the crew of the Benvenue on 11 November 1891. The citation for the R.N.L.I. Medal states:
‘11th November 1891: The 2,033 ton Glasgow vessel Benvenue, outward bound for Sydney, Australia, was moving down the English Channel under tow, when the wind increased to hurricane force as she was off Folkestone, Kent. The tow parted at 5:30am, and she was swept toward the shore. She dropped her anchors just off Sandgate but, with seas breaching over her, she began to sink and her crew took to the rigging. The self-righting Hythe lifeboat Mayer de Rothschild was launched at Sandgate, but was driven back by the wind and a blinding blizzard. Attempts to put a line on board the casualty were made using rocket apparatus, but these failed. Hythe lifeboat was then launched from a point near the Coastguard houses at Hythe and set sail from Sandgate, but a huge wave turned her completely and, when she righted, one man was missing. An unsuccessful attempt to leave harbour was made by the Dover lifeboat, but then, in the early evening, another attempt was made by the Hythe boat with a fresh crew of local fishermen as well as Messrs. Hennessey and Sadler, who had been on the original launch. With considerable difficulty the lifeboat went alongside the wreck and 27 survivors were taken off and landed at Folkestone soon after 10:00pm.’

Remarkably, this was Hennessey’s second gallant action of the day- earlier on in the day, had rescued, unaided, a crew of four from the French schooner Eider, for which he was awarded a second R.N.L.I. silver medal (although this service had taken place before the Benvenue rescue, the second medal was awarded at a later date. This is the only occasion that separate R.N.L.I. awards were made for two services on the same day). For his efforts on the day as a whole he was also awarded a fully-merited Albert Medal Second Class.

Wreck of the Benvenue
‘A very sad scene occurred at Sandgate yesterday. The full-rigged ship Benvenue, 2,033 tons, laden with a general cargo and bound from London to Sydney, was proceeding down Channel in charge of a tug; when off Sandgate she parted her cable tow-rope, and the vessel rapidly drifted ashore. This was about 6:00am, when it was blowing a hurricane and a fearful sea was running. Seeing that his vessel was drifting ashore, the captain dropped his anchor, but this was of no avail; the vessel struck and settled down hard on the bottom. The dropping of the anchor had, as it happened, a very disastrous effect, and has led to the whole of the crew being imprisoned in the rigging since the vessel struck, as it prevented her from drifting right in shore, when the crew could have been easily reached. The seashore at Sandgate, which is literally bestrewed with wreckage, had been crowded with thousands of spectators throughout the greater part of the day. When the vessel sank the captain and his crew took to the mizzen top, and here they have remained huddled together since six o´clock, so close to shore that they could see everything which was going on, and yet unable to obtain help of any kind. It has been almost impossible to ascertain the number of people in the rigging, but it is variously estimated at from 15 to 25. There are supposed to be two women and a child amongst the unfortunate people. Besides those in the mizzen top there appears to be some one rolled up in the yards above and a seaman outside. It is supposed that the women had been conveyed there for greater security. The hull of the vessel at low water is several feet under water, and at high water her lower yards are about 20 feet out of the water. All her masts and spars are standing, but except those sails which were furled every stitch has been blown away. The vessel appears to be a fine craft as she lies there. The Sandgate Coastguard have been on duty since four o´clock, and until dark continued the use of the rocket apparatus. A great number of rockets have been fired, but from some cause or other every attempt failed. At midday Major O’Malley and a party of No. 52 Battery, Field Artillery, proceeded to the seashore with a 12-pounder breech loading field piece, and endeavoured by firing the gun to throw the rocket and line across the vessel, but the force of the discharge was so great that in each case the line was broken. At three o´clock any further attempts with the gun were abandoned, and the rocket apparatus was taken on to the foreshore and further attempts made. The first shot was well aimed. Two of the figures were seen to emerge from the position in which they were huddled together, and one man clambered down one of the ropes of the ship until he was almost washed away by the waves beneath him. Then some of the people were seen on the crosstrees hauling; but after hauling some time the line proved to be broken. All the subsequent attempts were unsuccessful in reaching the ship. The poor fellow who discovered the rope appeared to have great difficulty in returning, and was helped back by some of his shipmates as soon as he got within their reach. It is not known how many of the crew are still on board, but it is stated that three at least of the men were washed overboard, although no bodies have been washed ashore. A report, however, was current, but is not yet properly confirmed, that a man was washed ashore at Sandgate on a piece of wreckage, but before help could reach him; he lost his hold and was lost. Although thousands of anxious and willing hands were so near the vessel no help could reach the persons on board; the rockets fired all failed, and no lifeboat could be obtained. There was such a terrific sea running that it was impossible for any boat to approach the ship. The Sandgate lifeboat had capsized, and the Dungeness and Littlestone boats were engaged on other wrecks. A telegram was despatched to Dover for assistance, and a gallant attempt was made in the face of a terrible sea to get the lifeboat off, the Granville tug (Captain Lambert), acting under the orders of Mr. James Durden, the harbour master, taking the boat in tow. Upon reaching the Admiralty Pier it was found impossible to face the heavy seas, and both boats were driven away to the eastward, returning to the harbour later in the afternoon. At night the greatest excitement prevailed on the seashore at Sandgate. A crew was again mustered to Dover, and Mr. Durden again sent the lifeboat down in charge of the tug to make another attempt to rescue the crew. If they succeed, they will bring them to Dover. A French schooner, the Eider, was dashed against the Scabrook sea-wall and became a total wreck just before the Benvenue ran ashore. Four of the crew succeeded in reaching the shore, and were subsequently forwarded to the Dover Sailors’ Home. The captain, his wife, and nephew were drowned. Shortly after mid-day the body of the captain’s wife, a woman apparently about 35 years of age, was washed ashore at Sandgate opposite Gloucester terrace. The face was much bruised. The body was removed to Darnford cottage, Sandgate, where it was subsequently identified by the survivors. The scene at the identification was a truly affecting one and those present were deeply moved. The body was taken charge of by Mr. Maxted, the superintendent of the Kent County Constabulary, stationed at Sandgate, who stated that during the 15 years he had been stationed there he had never experienced a storm of such violence. The rocket apparatus was in charge of Chief Officer Onslow, stationed at Sandgate. Albert Sadler, the second coxswain of the Sandgate lifeboat, which was launched at Hythe with such disastrous results, made the following statement:- “We were called out early this morning by signals of distress from a schooner which subsequently became a total wreck at Scabrook. We found that we could not launch the boat at Sandgate, so we took her to Hythe. After getting a crew together we attempted to launch the boat. Most of us were coastguardsmen, but there were six civilians who volunteered their help. There was a fearful sea running, but we launched into the teeth of it as the huge waves rolled in upon us. We had just got clear of the off rope, about 150 yards from the shore, when a tremendous sea struck us and the boat capsized. All of us were thrown into the water, but I managed to hang on by the weather side of the boat; two managed to get into the boat when she righted herself. The rest of us made the best attempts we could to get to the shore. All of us were greatly exhausted, and two men were almost gone and restoratives had to be applied. The sea turned me over just as I reached the shore, the waves doubling me up and hurling me upon the beach with great force. I was nearly gone and must have been lost but for several persons running into the surf and catching hold of me. One of our crew, a man named Fags, was drowned. He was overpowered after reaching the shore, and was dragged out into the surf again by the suction of the sea and could not be recovered. The lifeboat was recovered.” The wind backed towards the west about four o´clock, and soon after the fury of the sea subsided considerably. By five o´clock darkness had begun to set in and the moon shone in a cloudless sky, but the poor fellows on board the ship Benvenue still clinging to their only refuge until a late hour, waiting patiently in the hope that some help would reach them. A later telegram says:- “The crew of the Benvenue have just [9:50pm] been rescued by the Sandgate lifeboat. A fresh crew was obtained about an hour ago, and, after considerable delay in launching, the boat was got into the water precisely at nine o´clock. The rescue party was a scratch one, made up of fishermen from Folkestone and other places round here and some coastguards. She stuck to the beach for some time, but there were hundreds of willing hands at the ropes and behind her, and as she at last glided into the water a cheer was given by some thousands of voices, so loud and hearty was it that the poor fellows in the rigging must have heard it and been reassured by it. The lifeboat weathered one or two terrific seas, but within ten minutes she was alongside the wreck, and the work of rescue was begun. All the survivors are now on board the lifeboat, which has left the sunken vessel, and it is probable that they will effect a landing at Folkestone. The Dover lifeboat has just arrived, in charge of a tug, but too late to be of use. The shipwrecked crew had been in the rigging exactly 16 hours. The enthusiasm here is intense at the happy termination of a most exciting day. The gale has now quite subsided. The Calais mail packet, which should have arrived here at 5:20pm, reached here at 11:30pm. The Dover lifeboat crew returned here at eleven o´clock, and have been entertained at the Sailors’ Home. After making two very gallant attempts to reach the Benvenue they arrived there just in time to see the survivors taken off by the Sandgate lifeboat. The men were landed at Folkestone in an exhausted state, and were received by an enormous crowd. The captain and four men were reported to be drowned.”’ (Extract from The Times, 12 November 1891 refers).

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Note: The awards to Albert Sadler were sold in these rooms in June 1991.