Orders, Decorations & Medals - British Groups

Lot 4181    SESSION 20 (4.30PM FRIDAY 28TH JULY)    Orders, Decorations & Medals - British Groups

Estimate $14,000
Bid at live.noble.com.au

R.M.S. "Carpathia"/S.S. "Titanic" Medal, In Recognition Of Gallant & Heroic Service, From The Survivors Of The S.S. "Titanic", 1912, in bronze, unnamed as issued; I.M.O (In Memory Of) Titanic souvenir medal in gold and enamel, reverse inscribed 'April 15th 1912'; also, The Royal Life Saving Society Award of Merit in silver, reverse inscribed 'J. Watt. 1933'; B.A.A.A. (Barrow Amateur Athletic Association) prize medal in voided silver and gold, ring top with ornate pin-back suspender, obverse inscribed 'Swimming Race', reverse inscribed '1st Prize/B.A.A.A./Aquatic Sports/Aug.6th/1900'; also commemorative medal, Loss of the S.S.Titanic, April 15.1912, uniface, in bronze (51mm) (Eimer 1929; MH 1928, 716), by Spicer-Simpson. The last with digs on reverse, otherwise very fine, the rest extremely fine. (5)

Loss of the S.S. Titanic medal was privately commissioned by survivors of the Titanic, Margaret Brown and Dennis Telluride. It features the right facing bust of Captain Rostron of R.M.S. Carpathia. Only 500 medals were struck in bronze and they are very scarce.

Ex The D.Featherstone/L.McNaught Collection and Noble Numismatics Sale 124 (lot 3619).

The British passenger ship, S.S. Titanic was the luxurious and supposedly publicised as practically unsinkable liner which sank after hitting an iceberg in the North Atlantic off the coast of Newfoundland on its maiden voyage from Southampton, England to New York City, USA. This disaster led to the deaths of over 1,500 passengers and crew. The event has been the subject of 18 movies and numerous television features between 1912 up to 2018 with perhaps the most exciting being that made in 1997 simply titled 'Titanic', made by James Cameron and starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslett.

Arthur Henry Rostron (1869-1940) was captain of the Cunard Line's R.M.S. Carpathia when a distress signal was received from the White Star liner S.S. Titanic on 15 April 1912. The Titanic had struck an iceberg and was sinking rapidly. Immediately Captain Rostron ordered his ship to speed to aid the Titanic. This was a huge risk because his ship was racing through icy waters at night but he knew what was at stake with a large passenger liner sinking in freezing water in the middle of the Atlantic. It took 3 1/ 2 hours to reach the Titanic's radioed position and during that time his orders and preparation would later prove to have saved lives. His crew prepared blankets, food and drinks and subsequently rescued hundreds of survivors from the freezing waters. Captain Rostron was honored with the Congressional Gold Medal, the Thanks of Congress, the American Cross of Honor, and medals by the Liverpool and New York Shipwreck Societies. He would eventually rise to the position of Commodore of the Cunard Line and also served as a British Naval Officer during WWI.

J.Watt was born in Barrow on the west coast of Lancashire, England in 1889. At the age of 11 he proved himself to be a good swimmer when he gained first place in an event at the Aquatic Sports staged by the Barrow Amateur Athletic Association in August 1900.

He joined the Merchant Navy, signing on with the Liverpool based Cunard Line where he served as a waiter. On 7 February 1912 he transferred from the S.S. Bohemian to the R.M.S. Carpathia. He was still with the Carpathia two months later when, on 12 April 1912, the S.S. Titanic sank and the captain, officers and crew of the Carpathia rescued 705 people from the Titanic's complement of 2,340. After landing the survivors at New York, USA on 18 April 1912 the Carpathia continued on its way.

The next time the Carpathia stopped at New York was on 29 May 1912 at which time the Titanic Survivors' Committee presented medals to the captain, officers and crew who had been on the Carpathia at the time of Titanic's sinking and the subsequent rescue. J.Watt was one of those so honoured. The medals were struck in gold, silver and bronze and awarded according to rank, thus J.Watt was a recipient of a bronze medal.

Watt discharged from service with the Carpathia on 1 January 1913 in Liverpool, England. In 1933 at the age of 44 he received the Royal Life Saving Society Award of Merit Medal for aquatic life saving proficiency.

With research including a video titled 'A Night to Remember', a 1958 movie staring Kenneth More; a book of the same title by Walter Lord; booklet titled 'Women and Children First, Wrecks, Rescues, Rewards and Recipients' by Jack Boddington; Titanic crew list; Carpathia crew list; various photos, postcards, and newspaper cuttings.