Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

R.S.P.C.A. Life Saving Medal, bronze (S/O F. N. Jury, 1963) naming engraved over some light preparatory naming, with integral top ‘For Humanity’ brooch bar, nearly extremely fine £100-£140

Frederick Newton Jury was born in St. Austell, Cornwall on 30 April 1910. By 1939 he was still in St. Austell, a toys and Hardware Dealer, and additionally part of the Auxiliary Fire Services for World War II. There are many references to him as a Station Officer in the St. Austell Fire Services in the local paper the Cornish Guardian in the 1960s. In the 11 June 1964 edition a parade was held in Bodmin, Cornwall for the Fire Services where long service medals and Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals awards were presented by Her Majesty’s Inspector of Fire Services, Mr A. V. Thomas whom was very impressed by the proceedings and was always impressed by the great amount of animal rescue work they did, not to mention other special services such as rescuing people from cliffs. In Cornwall they had a unique record in the country for this kind of thing and he went to say “To my knowledge there is not another brigade that does a quarter of the work you do in this respect”. The awards were: one silver, one bronze bar, four bronze medals and six certificates awarded. Curiously only Jury’s was for the St. Austell Fire Unit.

Although no specific rescue or citation was given there were many to chose from looking at the local newspaper such as an attempted rescue of a dog fallen down a mineshaft or a ‘jammed animal’; one better documented incident is the three hour long rescue of a valuable two year old Freisian heifer from a disused quarry in St. Austell, where the animal was stranded on a ledge 60 foot down the side of the quarry, the ledge itself only being above deep water, ‘Station Officer F. N. Jury and Mr. Grigg (the animal’s owner) were lowered down the side of the quarry and put a rope around the heifer’s horns. When the special rescue equipment arrived from Bodmin they put the heifer into a sling and, by the use of the blocks and tackle, she was hauled up to the top. The heifer, released from the harness, walked away apparently unhurt’.