Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

A ‘Volturno Disaster’ S.G.M. awarded to Ordinary Seaman J. McAllister, Mercantile Marine

Sea Gallantry Medal, G.V.R., silver (John McAllister, “Volturno”, 9th October 1913) good very fine £300-£400

Provenance: Dix Noonan Webb, December 2008.

John McAllister, an Ordinary Seaman on the Asian, was awarded the Sea Gallantry Medal in Silver on the occasion of the Volturno disaster of 9 October 1913. The Volturno, a British steamer, chartered by the Uranium Steamship Co. of Rotterdam, and bound thence to New York, was engulfed by fire in mid-Atlantic during a heavy gale. Of the 657 on board, 521 were saved by a fleet of eleven steamers that sped to her aid. Heavy seas interfered with the launching of boats, but the difficulty was eventually overcome by the use of oil; those who perished were mostly lost in the boats. The hull of the Volturno was eventually found by a Dutch steamer and scuttled as a dangerous derelict.

Numerous awards were made for this famous rescue, including 78 Sea Gallantry Medals in Silver to crew members of the six British vessels. In addition the Board of Trade also awarded 152 silver Sea Gallantry Medals (Foreign Services) to the crews serving on foreign vessels at the rescue. Eight men from the Asian were awarded the Sea Gallantry Medal.