Australian Historical Medals

Lot 598    SESSION 3 (2.30PM TUESDAY 29TH MARCH)    Australian Historical Medals

Estimate $20,000
Bid at live.noble.com.au
SOLD $15,000

BRAVERY AWARDS TO 17-YEAR OLD SOUTH AUSTRALIAN: Bravery Medal; Royal Humane Society Stanhope Gold Medal, edge impressed S&Sn (Spink & Son) and hallmarked for 375 (9ct) gold. Anthony Shane Day on back of suspender bar of first medal, Anthony Shane Day 7 July 1997 on second medal. Both medals officially engraved. Uncirculated. (2)

Together with,
1) Original case for Bravery Medal including miniature medal, riband bar with emblem and lapel badge.
2) Original case by Spink & Son for Stanhope Gold Medal.
3) Original bestowal certificate for Bravery Medal together with booklets and photo all in original presentation binder.
4) Framed copy of the above bestowal certificate.
5) Framed photo of Bravery Medal presentation to Anthony Shane Day by His Excellency the Governor of South Australia.
6) Research that includes newspaper articles; letters of gratitude; papers from ceremonies at Town Hall 14 September 1998 and Government House 8 September 1999; letters of 'Thanks' from Soraya Spencer's Class at Dawson Park Primary School (various hand-written letters in coloured pencil from youg children); miscellaneous documents.

Bravery Medal: granted 19/5/1999 to Anthony Shane Day in recognition of an act of bravery in hazardous circumstances.

Citation: On the morning of 7 July 1996, Mr Day rescued two children from a burning building at Davoren Park.

Mr Day, on hearing screams, was alerted to a fire in the house across the road. On running to assist, he saw a woman lying down in the front yard and heard her sceaming that her three children were still inside. Mr Day then heard screams coming from within the house. He immediately entered the house through the front door. Thick smoke made breathing difficult, forcing Mr Day to crawl on his hands and knees. Mr Day crawled into the loungeroom that was located at the front of the house. Mr Day called out to the children in an attempt to locate them as the smoke had reduced visibility considerably. He found a small girl in the corner of the room. Mr Day picked her up and ran with the child out through the front entrance. Mr Day handed the child to the mother and immediately re-entered the house, crawling again on his hands and knees until he located a small boy under the window in the loungeroom. Mr day picked up the boy and ran outside. Mr Day, believing the third child was still trapped in another part of the house, ran around to the back of the house to attempt a re-entry but, on arrival, saw the third child being brought safely outside.

By his actions, Mr Day displayed considerable bravery.

Medal presented to Mr Day by His Excellency the Governor of South Australia on 8 September 1999 at Government House, Adelaide, South Australia.

RHS (UK) Stanhope Gold Medal - awarded in 1997.

The Royal Humane Society of Australasia awarded Anthony Shane Day, chef, aged 17 years, of Andrews Farm, SA the Clarke Silver Medal (award no 10337) in 1997 for his brave actions and also advised him that the details of the rescue would be forwarded to London for consideration for the Stanhope Gold Medal, a Royal Humane Society (UK) award, open for competition amongst all Commonwealth Societies since 1962.

Case submitted by RHSA to RHS (UK) for the Stanhope Gold Medal 1997.

Place/Time: Pix Road, Davoren Park, South Australia.
Conditions: House fire.
Salvor: Anthony Shane Day (17) Chef.
Saved: Soraya Yardley (5), Joshua Yardley (4), Natasha Yardley (2).

Summary: Day heard a woman screaming from across the road and saw that her house was on fire. He ran to the woman, who was crying out for her three children still in the house. He could hear the children screaming from within the house.

With thick black smoke billowing through the front door, Day ran into the house where he was forced to his hands and knees by the suffocating smoke, and began crawling around the lounge room yelling for the children as he went. He eventually found Soraya huddled in a corner, picked her up, ran out through the front door and put her on the lawn near her mother. He immediately re-entered the burning house and, again crawling on the floor, found Joshua under the loungeroom window and carried him to safety. Fearing that the third child was still in the house, he then ran to the back of the house and saw two other men rescuing her. All were taken to hospital and treated for smoke inhalation, burns, cuts and bruises. The house was destroyed by fire.

Day also awarded the Clarke Medal in Silver of the RHSA, although this was purely a symbolic award and not actually presented.

Subsequently his nomination for the Stanhope Gold Medal was selected and he was presented with that medal rather than the Clarke Medal since the Stanhope award is the senior of the two.

The Stanhope Gold Medal was presented to Anthony Shane Day by His Excellency the Honourable Sir William Deane, AC, KBE, Governor-General of Australia on 14 September 1998 at Adelaide Town Hall, Adelaide, South Australia.

At that time, only one other South Australian (Trevor Allen Viney in 1989) had been a recipient of the Stanhope Gold Medal. In the words of the South Australian Police Commissioner, Mr Mal Hyde, Mr Day was the 'bravest of the brave'. And the rescued children's mother, Mrs Anja Spencer said, 'I was in the bedroom and woke to the smell of smoke. I smashed the loungeroom window and screamed for help. I remember seeing Anthony (Mr Day) running across the street buttoning his shirt. Anthony risked his life for my kids and I think he's just great.'

Ex Noble Numismatics Sale 119, lot 3610.