Auction Catalogue

23 June 2005

Starting at 10:00 AM

.

Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Grand Connaught Rooms  61 - 65 Great Queen St  London  WC2B 5DA

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Lot

№ 531

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23 June 2005

Hammer Price:
£1,900

Royal National Lifeboat Institution, V.R., silver, 2 clasps, Second Service, Third Service (Mr James White, Voted 1st May 1873), rev. of clasps engraved, ‘Voted 2nd December 1875’ and ‘Voted 1st March 1877’ respectively, double-dolphin suspension, very fine £700-800

R.N.L.I. Medal in silver, awarded 1 May 1873 to James White, Coxswain of the Fishguard Lifeboat. ‘In acknowledgement of his gallant services in the boat on various occasions in assisting to save 50 lives from various wrecks.’ Amongst the services cited in Lifeboat Gallantry, were those related to the schooners Albion and Emma in 1865, the schooner Halwell, J.W.A., Ann Mitchell and Carnsew in 1871 and the smacks Commerce and Lion in 1872.

R.N.L.I. Second Award clasp, awarded 2 December 1875 to James White, Coxswain of the Fishguard Lifeboat. ‘14 November 1875: About noon, in a terrific gale, distress signals were seen from vessels at anchor in Fishguard Roads, Pembrokeshire. The No.1 lifeboat
Sir Edward Perrott launched and saved three men from the Milford schooner Elinor and Mary, driven among breakers on Goodwick Sands, the crew of the Caernarvon smack Laura, the crew from the rigging of the schooner Independence and the crew in the rigging of the Caernarvon vessel Princess Royal - a total of 16 lives’.

R.N.L.I. Third Award clasp, awarded 1 March 1877 to James White, Commissioned Boatman, H.M. Coastguard, Goodick, Coxswain, Fishguard No.1 Lifeboat. ‘23 February 1877: About an hour after midnight during a very heavy north-easterly gale and violent sea, three vessels showed distress signals from the roadstead off Fishguard, Pembrokeshire. The No.1 lifeboat
Sir Edward Perrott launched and took off two men from the Newquay vessel George Evans, four men from the Bridgewater dandy Adventure and three from the Newport vessel Supply, and landed them all at 4.30 a.m. They had to launch again immediately, with Mr White still on board, to the New York brigantine B. F. Nash, which had been driven on to the beach, but when the tide ebbed the brigantine’s crew elected to remain by her.’

Sold with copied extracts from
The Lifeboat relating to the events.