Medals from the Collection of the late Mike Minton

A King's Police Medal awarded for gallantry to Constable George Smart, Birmingham Police, who together with his colleague, were the first Birmingham recipients of the medal

KING'S POLICE MEDAL, G.V.R., with gallantry ribbon (George Smart, Const., Birmingham Police) nearly very fine

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, Medals from the Collection of the late Mike Minton.

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K.P.M., London Gazette, 3 January, 1911. Personally presented by the King at St. James's Palace on 28 February. The award was for conspicuous gallantry in effecting the arrest of two armed criminals near Coleshill Street, Birmingham, on 9 March 1909. The constables detected two men breaking into a warehouse and encountered them in the yard. At the shout of 'Hands up, or we will blow your brains out,' two shots were fired at Clancy (Smart's companion) who was wounded, but continued to pursue his assailant and effected his arrest. The second man attempted to fire at Smart who heard two clicks from the revolver but it did not fire. Constable Smart struck the youth in the face with his fist and knocked him down, falling on top of him, and then taking the revolver from the youth, arrested him.

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