The Jack Webb Collection of Medals and Militaria

Castle Mail Packets Company Medal, silver, obverse inscribed, ‘Presented by Sir Donald Currie, K.C.M.G., M.P. to L. Reap, A.B., R.M.S. Norham Castle’ with chased inscription around, ‘ The Castle Mail Packets Compy. Ltd. London’; reverse inscribed, ‘For Gallantry in Rescuing the Crew of the Ship “Fascadale” Natal, 7th Feby. 1895’ with ornamental band around, hallmarks for Edinburgh 1895, with swivelling silver suspension bar which has the chased inscription ‘For Gallantry’ on the obverse and a brooch pin on the reverse, good very fine and rare £200-£300

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, The Jack Webb Collection of Medals and Militaria.

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Statement of Captain Robert Duncan, Master of the Steamship Norham Castle, of London:

‘R.M.S. Norham Castle, February 10, 1895.- Left East London, bound for Natal, on February 6, light north-east wind and moderate sea. At 8 p.m. light breeze and overcast, with continual rain. At 3 a.m. on the 7th instant hard squalls from the south-east, with heavy rain; impossible to see anything ahead, the weather being so thick and dark. Slowed engines, and hauled the ship two points off the land. At 5 a.m. the weather cleared, and daylight coming in, set the engines full speed, and hauled the Norham Castle in towards the land. At 5.50 sighted red-topped hill, North Sand Bluff. At 6.30 sighted a four-masted sailing ship, with all sail set, ashore on the rocks near the south bank of the Impenjali River, lat 30 59 S., lon 30 17 20 E. At 7 a.m. steamed in as close as possible, and stopped the engines. There was a heavy swell from the south-east, breaking clean over the ship, and the crew were observed waving their clothes, some of them clinging to the rigging of the jigger mast, and some to the end of the jib-boom. The Chief Officer, Mr. Whitehead, volunteered to go away in one of the boats and attempt the rescue. Accordingly, a boat was immediately lowered, and proceeded towards the ship, and at 9.30 succeeded, after great difficulty, in taking off eighteen of the crew. It was not until several attempts that a line could be attached and communication made with the ship, which was only effected by the Chief Officer jumping into the sea with a line and swimming towards the ship, being met half way by one of the Apprentices who swam towards him with another line from the ship, when, by joining the two lines in the water, seventeen of the crew were hauled aboard the boat in a very exhausted condition. The Captain of the ship who was washed off the poop, was brought aboard in an exhausted state, his legs being badly bruised, the Chief Officer, Mr. Whitehead, again jumping into the sea and swimming back with him to the boat. A second boat in the meantime had been lowered from the Norham Castle, in charge of the Second Officer, and, transhipping the eighteen rescued men from the first boat, brought them alongside the steamship, while the Chief Officer's boat continued to try and get off the remainder of the crew, five in number, who were clinging to the jib-boom. But the surf being so heavy, combined with the backwash from the beach and the current, it was not possible to get near them, and the boat returned to the Norham Castle to obtain rockets and a small line with which to endeavour to send a line over the jib-boom. Before, however, she got back to the ship, the five men were either washed off the jib-boom, or dropped into the sea to try and swim ashore, perhaps thinking that the boat might not return to their assistance, and losing heart. Seeing that there was no one left on board the ship, which had parted amidships and was fast breaking up, the middle two masts having gone overboard, the boats returned, and being got aboard and made fast, the Norham Castle proceeded for Natal at 12.50 p.m. Four out of the five men, it is believed, succeeded in reaching the shore, but three of the crew, it is reported were washed overboard and drowned before the Norham Castle arrived on the scene; so that four men were drowned out of a total crew of twenty-eight. The wrecked ship proved to be the Fascadale, Captain R. J. Gillespie, of Glasgow, from Java, with a sugar cargo, bound for Lisbon for orders, the name of the Apprentice who swam from her to meet the Chief Officer Mr. Frank Percy Whitehead, being Robert Patrick Gordon Ferries’.

There is little factual information about the institution of these medals, the number of awards made, or any nominal roll of the recipients but the most obvious conclusion would be that they were given to the crews of the two lifeboats and other prominent crew members involved in the rescue.