Orders, Decorations and Medals

ROYAL HUMANE SOCIETY, silver medal (Unsuccessful), (Lieut. Colin H.C. Singleton, R.N., 13th Aug. 1930) complete with silver ribbon buckle and contained in its Elkington &Co. case of issue, extremely fine and very scarce

Lieutenant Singleton was awarded the Silver Medal of the Royal Humane Society on 11th November, 1930. However, the General Court voted him Stanhope Gold Medalist of 1930, their annual award to the recipient of the silver medal whose act of gallantry was considered to be the most outstanding in that year. The following details of Lieutenant Singleton's attempted rescue were extracted from the Society's records: On the 13th August, 1930, at 11 p.m., Lieutenant Singleton, who had been ashore on duty to ensure that the libertymen from his ship all returned from the Naval Canteen at Hankow, was returning to H.M.S. 'Peterel' together with six libertymen in the ship's motor sampan-a boat with very little draft and very little freeboard. On arrival alongside H.M.S. 'Peterel' Lieut. Singleton got out of the boat and stood by the gangway to watch the libertymen come inboard-libertymen being inspected by an officer on all occasions of arriving on board. Two of the six ratings had stepped on board, when Stoker O'Brien came out from under the canopy of the sampan, paused a moment before stepping inboard, and, for no apparent reason, fell backwards into the river. He was the only non-swimmer in the ship, a fact which was known to Lieut. Singleton, who, without waiting to remove any clothing, leapt from the ship on to the sampan and dived after Stoker O'Brien. Lieut. Singleton caught O'Brien about 20 yards astern of H.M.S. 'Peterel' but he was struggling so violently that both sank, and the rescuer was forced to relinquish his hold, and in spite of every effort could not locate O'Brien. About half a minute later Lieut. Singleton picked up a lifebuoy. The motor sampan by this time had again got under way and came alongside the officer, who instructed it not to stop but go on down stream and continue the search for the deceased. The boat then proceeded down as far as the Installation of the Asiatic Petroleum Co. (about three and a half miles from the scene of the accident) and then returned, and then with considerable difficulty found Lieut. Singleton (who hailed them) and returned to the ship. Had the officer not hailed it is extremely probable he would not have been picked up. The Yangtse River is notoriously dangerous, owing to the very fast current (at the time at least 4 knots) a powerful undertow and the very real danger of acquiring disease from contact with its waters. Innumerable cases of drowning have occurred when the victim has fallen in and never appeared again, owing to the aforementioned undertow. Lieut. Singleton was in the water approximately twenty minutes, and suffered from nausea for two or three days after as a result.' (Case 50, 623)

Colin Henry Corbett Singleton entered the Royal Navy as Midshipman, 15 January 1924. He served as First Lieutenant of the River Gunboat H.M.S. Peterel on the China station from June, 1929. In the latter half of 1930, twelve gunboats, including Peterel, and three destroyers were involved in numerous incidents both above and below Hankow, and expended some 20, 000 rounds of small arms ammunition.