LIFESAVING MEDAL AWARDED TO MEMBER OFSTAFF ON THE ILL-FATED TITANIC

-Medal awarded three years earlier, and unfortunately the recipientperished on the renowned ship -

The Life-saving medal awarded to First Class Bedroom StewardH. Roberts, S.S. Republic, for his assistance in the rescue of over1,700 lives from the Republic and the Italian liner ,following their collision off Nantucket in January 1909 will beoffered Mayfair-based Dix Noonan Webb in their auction ofOrders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria on Wednesday,April 20, 2022. Subsequently, Roberts was transfered to theR.M.S. Titanic and drowned when the ill-fated vessel struck aniceberg in the North Atlantic on her maiden voyage on the night of14-15 April 1912, and sank with the loss of over 1,500 lives. Thesilver medal is expected to fetch £1,000-1,400.

Hugh Roberts was born in Holyhead (North Wales) in c.1873 and served as a First ClassBedroom Steward in the White Star Line's S.S. Republic. In the early morning of 23 January1909, the Republic, sailing from New York to Gibraltar, collided with the Italian linerS.S. Florida in fog off the island of Nantucket, Massachusetts. The White Star Line'sR.M.S. Baltic responded to the C.Q.D. (distress signal) call sent out by radio. Threepassengers died in the collision; the remaining passengers from the Republic weretransferred, first to the less-damaged Florida, and then, on her arrival, to the Baltic.The Republic sank the next day whilst under tow to New York. The saloon passengers of thetwo White Star Liners subscribed to a fund to provide medals to the crews of the three shipsinvolved, in recognition of the fact that they saved more than 1,700 lives. This was the firstoccasion on which the C.Q.D. distress call had been sent by wireless transmission.

Roberts remained in the employ of the White Star Line, and was aboard the Titanic for herdelivery trip from Belfast to Southampton. He signed on again for the Titanic in Southamptonon 4 April 1912, giving his last ship as the Baltic, and was employed upon the ill-fated liner'smaiden voyage as a first class bedroom steward, with monthly wages of £3 15s.

Oliver Pepys, Associate Director and Medal Auctioneer at Dix Noonan Webb explains:

He continues:

For more information, see:
https://www.dnw.co.uk/