Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

An Italian Al Valore di Marina to Swedish Mariner Sjögren for saving life at the sinking of liner Utopia, at Gibraltar, 17 March 1891

Italy, Kingdom, Al Valore di Marina, bronze, reverse inscribed (Sjögren n16. 7a Compa. Marinard, 17 Marzo 1891, Gibilterra) good very fine £200-300

The Anchor Line Utopia of 2,731 tons, with Captain J. M’Keague, departed Naples on 12 March 1891, bound for New York, with three saloon passengers, 815 Italian emigrants, three stowaways and a crew of 59. In the early evening of 17 March, it being dark, a gale blowing and a strong current setting, the ship was in the Bay of Gibraltar close to the British Mediterranean Fleet which was at anchor. Captain M’Keague attempted to pass between the battleship Anson and the New Mole Head but at the last moment decided to cross the bow of the battleship instead. Through a grave error of judgment the captain brought his ship too close to the Anson, making no allowance for the warship’s ram which projected underwater from the bow. The ram entered the Utopia’s side just abaft of her centre tearing a hole 26 feet long 15 feet wide towards her stern. Traveling 200 yards on, with bulkheads and engines torn away, the ship soon began to settle by the stern. Terrified emigrants who had crowded the decks, excited to see land, fell or jumped into the raging sea. The ships of the fleet, the Swedish frigate Freya and other vessels nearby, immediately lowered boats to the rescue. Terror reigned on the liner as within 20 minutes the ship sank, with her keel resting on the bottom, her bridge awash and just her funnel and masts showing. The crews of the rescue boats performed prodigies of heroism and rescued many from the sea, two of the crew of steam launch from the Immortalite being drowned in the effort. Of the 880 people aboard the Utopia, 311 were saved, 569 were drowned or missing, including 20 of the ship’s crew. An estimated 30 to 40 rescue boats put to sea to aid in the rescue; those from the Freya saved 43 people.

The Utopia, lying in nine fathoms and posing an obstacle to navigation, was later refloated; the Anson’s ram showed no sign of injury. Captain M’Keague was charged with manslaughter in “...... neglecting the ordinary rules of the road in entering a harbour”.

Many awards were made for the rescue. Two Albert Medals; four silver and 20 bronze Royal Humane Society medals awarded; together with a number of silver and bronze Al Valore di Marina Medals awarded by the King of Italy. Amongst the latter was the bronze medal awarded to Sjögren from the Swedish frigate Freya. In addition to medals a number of Vellum Scolls of the Royal Humane Society were given to the crew of the boats from the Freya. Amongst the names is a ‘Sjozren’, which could just be a transciption error for ‘Sjögren’. Sold with copied research.