Great Britian Historical Medals

Lot 2666    Session 8 (2.30pm Wednesday)    Great Britian Historical Medals

Estimate $3,000
Bid at live.noble.com.au

THE KING'S MEDAL, Mercantile Marine Service Association Liverpool School Frigate H.M.S."Conway", in 22ct gold (57.6gms, 45mm) edge engraved 'Cyril Carlos Ellison, 1927', in case of issue bearing GVR cypher on lid. Hairlines on obverse, extremely fine and scarce.

In 1859 HMS Conway Merchant Navy cadet school ship was established to train cadets as future Mercantile Marine officers. In 1861 the Board of Trade accepted that two years at Conway was the equivalent of one year at sea and cadets received a Conway Passing Out Certificate of Exemption when they completed training. On 4 February 1864 Queen Victoria acknowledged Conway's achievements and announced the instigation of the Queen's Gold Medal to be awarded annually to the selected cadet. The winner's name was recorded on a memorial board which is now on display at the Conway Chapel at Birkenhead. On the passing of Queen Victoria the award became the King's Gold Medal. Similar awards, but with a different reverse design, were also established to be made annually to the top cadet at the respective colleges for the RN, Army, and RAF in England and the RAN (1916), Army (1919) and RAAF (1951) in Australia. On 19 July 1927 King George V inspected one hundred Conway cadets at Liverpool Town Hall and then presented the King's Medal to Chief Cadet Captain C.C.Ellison. With research.