Royal Humane Society, small silver medal (successful) (Commr. Chas. Wake, R.N., H.M.S. “Hannibal” 12 Dec. 1855) good very fine £200-250

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, Awards to Civilians from the Collection of John Tamplin.

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Ex Needes Collection 1940.

R.H.S. Case No. 15,782: Submitted by Captain John Dalrymple Hay, R.N., H.M.S. Hannibal, Smyrna, 13th December, 1855.

‘On the 12th December, 1855, whilst H.M.S. Hannibal was lying at anchor in the roads at Smyrna, a seaman accidentally fell overboard from aloft into the sea; he could swim but very little, and was seized with cramp; the night being dark and stormy, when James Pringle, A.B., and Commander Charles Wake, R.N., jumped overboard and swam to his assistance. Pringle was the first to lay hold of, and support the drowning man. The darkness was so intense that it was impossible to throw the life-buoy with any certainty, and the noise of the thunder and wind so great that the shouts of the men on board could not be heard. Fortunately a Sardinian boat was at hand, and had lights on board, by which they distinctly saw Commander Wake in the water holding up both men, whose lives were thus eventually saved.’

Note: The (large) Silver Medallion which was originally awarded to Commander Wake was returned and exchanged for a (small) Medal for wear in uniform in March 1873.

Charles Wake was born on 23 October 1824, second son of Sir Charles Wake, 2nd Baronet. He entered the Navy in April 1837, and as a Midshipman, saw service in H.M.S. Benbow during the Syria operation of 1840 (Medal with clasp and Turkish medal). Whilst he saw no further war service, Wake was directly responsible for the loss of the Bulldog paddle Sloop, to which he had been appointed as Captain in March 1864, in a remarkable episode that took place in the West Indies in October 1865.

Whilst near Cape Haitien, the Bulldog came across the Voldrogue, a ship under orders of insurgents in Haiti. After a series of insults had been made by the insurgents, Wake eventually decided to run the Voldrogue down in the harbour at Cape Haitien. As the Bulldog was a wooden ship and the Voldrogue an iron vessel, it was a doubtful course to undertake. Furthermore, the Voldrogue had shifted her berth unbeknown to Wake. In the event, on 23 October, whilst the Bulldog was sailing to ram the Voldrogue, she ran into a spit of sand and soft coral, and became quite fast; this was at 8.30 a.m. She did, however, with two rounds sink the Voldrogue. Fire was also kept up on the batteries of the fort. Captain Wake came to the conclusion that it was quite impossible to refloat the Bulldog, and he decided to blow it up. This he did at 11.20 p.m. that evening, the crew having mustered in the Bulldog’s boats.

The subsequent court martial found Wake guilty and he was severely reprimanded. He did, however, go on to become an Admiral on the Retired List in April 1886, and died at Devonport on 26 March 1890, aged 65. Sold with full research and some original news cuttings about the Bulldog incident.