City of Philadelphia, Public Ledger Medal of Merit, by Hoover & Smith, Philadelphia, obv. a mounted knight armed with a lance, in raised letters above, ‘The Public Ledger Medal of Merit’, engraved below, ‘Robert Wiley’; rev. two coats-of-arms, ‘City of Philadelphia, Police, Fire’, additionally engraved, ‘Aug. 5th 1929’, 30mm., 14kt. gold, ring suspension, fitted with watch chain, with damaged case, extremely fine £300-400

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, The Jack Boddington Collection of Life Saving Medals.

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The Public Ledger is a Philadelphia newspaper which, with co-operation of the City of Philadelphia, awards a Medal of Merit to members of the Fire and Police Departments for acts of heroism.

‘Five Philadelphia firemen ranging from a smooth faced young hoseman to a grizzled lieutenant of twenty-seven years service, stood in embarrassed silence in Director Schofield’s office yesterday and heard themselves praised as they received gold medals commemorating deeds in which they had risked their lives to save others. Three of them were Edmund Heyne, Robert Wiley and Alexander Walker, hosemen of Engine Company No.6 to whom Director Schofield handed Public Ledger Medals of Merit and accompanying checks of $50 each for saving the lives of five women trapped on the roof of a burning building on April 11 .... Engine Company No. 6 answered an alarm on April 11 to find the fire “in complete control” as official reports put it, of a laundry .... on the roof, cut off by flames were six women employees. They were rescued, the rescuers suffering burns’. Sold with copied extracts from the Public Ledger and other research.