S.S. Drummond Castle Medal 1896, silver, unnamed as issued, French import stamp to edge, minor edge nicks, good very fine £200-260

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, A Collection of Life Saving Awards formed by Dr Paul Démogé.

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The Castle Mail Packets Company liner S.S. Drummond Castle, homeward bound from Natal and Cape Town, struck a reef off Ushant in a fog on the night of 16 June, 1896. Of the 143 passengers and 104 officers and crew, only three escaped. Silver medals were struck with the approval of Queen Victoria for award to the Breton fishermen and other inhabitants of Brest, Ushant, and Molene who helped in rescuing the survivors, and in the recovery and burial of those lost.