Sea Gallantry Medal (Foreign Services), G.V.R., silver, ‘From the British Government, For Gallantry and Humanity’ (O. Dingel, “Volturno” 9th October 1913) nearly extremely fine £200-250

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, The Collection of British Orders, Decorations and Medals formed by the late Fred Rockwood.

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Awarded to Fireman O. Dingel of the S.S. Grosser Kurfüst, of Bremen, for his part in the rescue of the passengers and crew from the S.S. Volturno in the North Atlantic on 9-10 October 1913.

The Volturno, a British steamer, chartered by the Uranium Steamship Co. of Rotterdam, and bound thence to New York, was engulfed by fire in mid-Atlantic during a heavy gale. Of the 657 on board, 521 were saved by a fleet of eleven steamers that sped to her aid. Heavy seas interfered with the launching of boats, but the difficulty was eventually overcome by the use of oil; those who perished were mostly lost in the boats. The hull of the Volturno was eventually found by a Dutch steamer and scuttled as a dangerous derelict.

The Grosser Kurfürst, a German liner of 13,182 tons, was owned by the North German Lloyd Company and was sailing from Bremenhaven to New York. In the rescue operations, 105 passengers and crew were taken aboard the ship and landed safely in New York.

Numerous awards were made for this famous rescue, including 78 Sea Gallantry Medals in Silver to crew members of the six British vessels. In addition, the Board of Trade also awarded 152 Silver Sea Gallantry Medals (Foreign Services) to the crews serving on foreign vessels at the rescue.