Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Royal Humane Society, small bronze medal (successful) (G. H. Duggan, 8th. July. 1893.) with integral bronze buckle, good very fine £200-£240

R.H.S. Case no. 26,771: Mr. G. H. Duggan, as great personal risk, rescued eleven persons from drowning in Lake St. Louis, Canada, on 8 July 1893.’

George Herrick Duggan was born in Toronto, Ontario, on 6 September 1863 and was educated at Upper Canada College and at the University of Toronto. Initially employed by the Canadian Pacific Railway Company as an engineer, in 1911 he was appointed Chief Engineer to the St. Lawrence Bridge Company, and was instrumental in the design and construction of the 1,800-foot cantilever bridge which spanned the St. Lawrence river at Quebec. In 1912 he was appointed General Manager of the Dominion Bridge Company, of which he became Vice-President in 1917 and President in 1918, holding that office until 1936, when he resigned to accept the chairmanship of the Board of Directors of the Company. In addition, he was President of the Dominion Engineering Works and a number of allied organisations; a Vice-President of the Royal Bank of Canada; and a director of many important industrial and engineering firms.

A keen yachtsman, Duggan was a founder of the Toronto Yacht Club, the Royal St. Lawrence Yacht Club, and the Royal Cape Breton Yacht Club, for all of which he acted as Commodore. He designed and built over 100 yachts, and was the winner of the coveted Seawanhaka Cup, subsequently defending it on nine separate occasions. In 1893 he was awarded the bronze medal and certificate of the Royal Humane Society for saving life. He died as the result of a road accident on 8 October 1946.

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