Leander Medal, 44mm., silver, obverse: scene from ‘Hero and Leander’; reverse inscribed, ‘The Humphrey Memorial Medal. Instituted 1880 by the Misses C. & J. Humphrey as a token of affection for their late Father, Hony. Teacher of Swimming to the Serpentine Club. To be Swam for by all the Bathers Annually in the Serpentine. 1st Prize Won by M. M. Wood, Aug. 15 1883’, with silver brooch bar, in case, contact marks and edge bruising, nearly very fine £40-50

The tale of Hero and Leander first appears in a work by the Latin poet Ovid. It tells of two lovers living on opposite sides of the Hellespont; Hero a priestess of Aphrodite at Sestos and Leander living in Abydos. Each night Leander would swim to Hero guided by the light she would hold. One night, the light was extinguished by a storm and Leander, in the heavy seas was drowned. Hero, in her anguish, joined her lover and committed suicide by throwing herself into the sea.