Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

A rare Manchester Fire Brigade Bravery Medal, Quiver Medal pair to Fireman J. Clayton

Manchester Fire Brigade Bravery Medal, reverse engraved, ‘ Presented to Fireman John Clayton, July 12th 1894’, 32mm., silver, with ribbon and silver buckle; The Quiver Medal, for Heroic Conduct in the Saving of Life, reverse engraved, ‘Fireman J. Clayton, May 1894’, silver, complete with rare ribbon for saving life on land, with brooch bar, edge bruising, about very fine (2) £600-700

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, Life Saving, Police and Fire Brigade Medals from the James N Spencer Collection.

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See Colour Plate III.

‘On the night of 16th May 1894, fire broke out at a warehouse in Portland Street, Manchester, and a man was seen upon the gutter below the roof of the burning building. The gallant rescue of the unfortunate man is best described by Mr J. Lacey Savage, the superintendent of the Corporation Fire Brigade, who was an eye witness of the occurrence:

“The gutter, which is six or eight inches wide and a quarter of an inch thick, at the bottom of an almost perpendicular roof, is 65 feet, 6 inches from the ground. The escape was placed against the building, but the angle at which it was pitched, together with the weight of Fireman William Lawrence and John Clayton, who ascended, caused the top of the ladder (the upper part of which was perpendicular) to come about three feet short of the gutter. Lawrence got as near to the top as he could, while Clayton, who was behind him, placed his arm for Lawrence to stand on while he reached the gutter with his hands, when he pulled himself up on the roof assisted by Clayton. Lawrence passed the man over the gutter towards where Clayton was standing on the ladder. At this moment the crowd commenced to clap, when I turned round, stepped forward, and requested the people to keep quiet, which they did. This occupied some seconds, when I turned round again and looked upward, I noticed that Clayton had descended a few feet with the man in front of him, and that he was steadying him on the ladder, while Lawrence was on the top of the ladder, commencing to descend. During the few moments that my attention was drawn from the ladder to quieten the crowd, my assistant (Mr Muir) saw Lawrence lower the man over the gutter and got on to the ladder.”

We decided to recognise this signal act of bravery by the award of the silver medal of The Quiver Heroes Fund to each of the two firemen, and the medals were publically presented by the Lord Mayor of Manchester, Sir Anthony Marshall, at the Albert street police parade ground.’ (Ref. The Quiver, 1894, p.876 / 7.)

The Quiver Magazine started life in 1865 as an illustrated Sunday paper. In 1885 the paper instituted a medal to be awarded for acts of bravery reported to it. The medal was awarded in gold, silver and bronze. (See ‘The Quiver Medal’ by M. Leahy, L.S.A.R.S. Journal 5, p.19 - 25; ‘The Quiver Medals’ by Bill Fevyer, L.S.A.R.S. Journal 23, p.4 - 32.)