April 21, 2011 - London
199 199 Royal National Lifeboat Institution Medal, bronze, type 5 1937-to date, obverse: head of Sir William Hillary Bart., the founder, facing left (John Watters, Voted 15th May, 1947.), engraved in upright serif capitals, extremely fine, with uniface ‘dolphin’ suspension, in fitted case of issue, with original illuminated vellum certificate from the R.N.L.I. voting the medal and a photograph of the recipient (lot) £600-800 John Watters, Coxswain, Fowey Lifeboat, citation reads, ‘23 March 1947: With Coxswain Watters in charge, the Watson class reserve lifeboat The Brothers launched at 4.40am, in a whole gale, a dark night and heavy seas. The auxiliary m.v. Empire Contamar had run on to Callyvardor Rock, Par Bay, Cornwall, but the Coxswain had to search the bay before he found her, fast on the rock with only her bow and poop visible. The seven man crew was waist deep in water on the poop. In a difficult operation a line was got on board, the men were taken off and all landed at Fowey, 50 minutes after the lifeboat had reached the wreck.’ Watters was awarded the bronze medal, a copy of the vote of the medal inscribed on vellum and a reward of £2 in addition to the ordinary scale reward of £1. Each member of the crew was rewarded with £2 in addition to the ordinary scale reward of £1.
Coxswain J. Watters
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