We have had on our website for some years a medal roll of the bronze Medals of the Royal Humane Society, and it is our intention to add further medals rolls as they become available.
These will be transcribed from published or archive sources and are reproduced here with the approval of the original owners of the data. In some cases we have been able to add additional data where this will be advantageous to the researcher. Note: where page numbers are quoted in the various rolls – these refer to the pages numbers in the original book.
The Liverpool Shipwreck & Humane Society Roll consists of the medals, clasps, parchments, certificates and letters where the names are listed in the annual reports of the following awards made by the Society:
However, there are a few missing awards, where, for example our archives have not listed the recipients name (ie. a seaman), and there are some years where we do not have a copy of the Annual Report and some names may not be listed in this roll. Another 'problem' is that there are know inconsistencies in the Annual Reports where, for example a silver medal is listed, but in fact a bronze medal was awarded.
If you would like further information, eg. a citation or clarification of an award, please contact the Secretary of the Liverpool Shipwreck & Humane Society www.liverpoolshipwreckandhumanesoc.org.uk
The Lloyd's Medal Roll contains the following:
Lloyd's Medal for Saving Life At Sea
This medal was instituted in 1836 and the first award made for a rescue in 1837, but it was not until 1839 that the medals were ready for presentation. The 1st type medal was large, unsuspended, and struck in silver and bronze, some silver medals were glazed. A second, small type medal, with a ribbon, was introduced in 1896 and awarded in gold (once), silver and bronze.
The roll is based on the indexes and the content of Lloyd's Medals 1836 – 1989 by Jim Gawler, supplemented by additional sources to verify ship's names and awardee's first names (where only initials are given). Dates in brackets indicate the date of award – the date of the incident not having survived in Lloyd's records.
Lloyd's War Medal for Bravery At Sea
This medal, only issued in silver, was awarded by Lloyd's to seafarers who performed acts of exceptional courage during WWII. The first awards were announced in March 1941, and the last in October 1948. The sources for this medal roll are as follows and we are grateful to Bob Scarlett for permission to extract the details from his book. George Brown and Jim Gawler are deceased.
The roll is based on the indexes and the content of the above sources, and a variety of additional sources to verify ship's names and awardees first names (where only initials are given). In a few cases there are inconsistencies in names, so we have used the London Gazette entries to verify names and Seedie's, List of Awards to the Merchant Navy for World War II, which was sourced from original Admiralty records. In the very few cases where the exact naming could not be verified, alternative names are included. Dates in brackets indicate the date when first considered by Lloyd's, the date of the incident not having survived in Lloyd's records.
Lloyd's Medal for Meritorious Service
This medal, issued in gold and silver, was awarded by Lloyd's to captains of vessels for meritorious service. The award criteria were later extended to include a wider range of awardees. Four different medal types have been awarded. Only three bars have been awarded, all to holders of the silver medal. The roll is based on the indexes and the content of Lloyd's Medals 1836 – 1989 by Jim Gawler, supplemented by additional sources to verify awardee's first names (where only initials are given). Dates in brackets indicate the date of award – the date of the incident not having survived in Lloyd's records.
Lloyd's Medal for Services to Lloyds
This medal was initiated in 1919 and awarded in gold (14) and silver (8). Of the latter seven were given to signal masters and one to a Lloyd's Agent. As it's name implies it was awarded to recipients who had given significant service to Lloyd's.
The roll is based on the indexes and the content of Lloyd's Medals 1836 – 1989 by Jim Gawler.
This medal roll is based on the medal index in 'The Order of Industrial Heroism' by W H Fevyer, J W Wilson and J E Cribb. Corrections and additional details have been made to the original index.
The medal was created by the Daily Herald newspaper and was given as a reward to "workers" who demonstrated bravery in the workplace. The award was made between 1923-1963.
Thanks to Peter Farmer for permission use the index from his book Police Gallantry - The King's Police Medal, The King's Police and Fire Service Medal and the Queen's Police Medal for Gallantry 1909 - 1978, to which additional details have been added.
These were originally transcribed by Bill Fevyer and then Peter Helmore with the permission of the Royal Humane Society.
Note: The RHS archive is now in the London Metropolitan Archives (LMA). For the period 1890 to 1917 additional details of the rescues have been included.
Thanks to the RNLI for permission to use the index from Lifeboat Gallantry, by Barry Cox. Again we have added additional information to enhance the research potential.