Gordon Love Bastian, (30 March 1902 – November 1987) was an engineering officer in the

British Merchant Navy The Merchant Navy is the maritime register of the United Kingdom and comprises the seagoing commercial interests of UK-registered ships and their crews. Merchant Navy vessels fly the Red Ensign and are regulated by the Maritime and Coastguar ...

who was awarded the Albert Medal for risking his own life to save other members of the crew of SS ''Empire Bowman'' after it was torpedoed on 31 March 1943. In 1971, living recipients of the Albert Medal and

Edward Medal The Edward Medal was a British civilian decoration which was instituted by royal warrant on 13 July 1907 to recognise acts of bravery of miners and quarrymen in endangering their lives to rescue their fellow workers. The medal was named in hono ...

were instructed to return their medal and were instead issued with the

George Cross The George Cross (GC) is the highest award bestowed by the British government for non-operational gallantry or gallantry not in the presence of an enemy. In the British honours system, the George Cross, since its introduction in 1940, has been ...

, the highest decoration for gallantry awarded to civilians or to military personnel for actions "not in the face of the enemy" in the United Kingdom and

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

Early life and career

Bastian was born at

Barry, Vale of Glamorgan Barry ( cy, Y Barri; ) is a town in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, on the north coast of the Bristol Channel approximately south-southwest of Cardiff. Barry is a seaside resort, with attractions including several beaches and the resurrected Bar ...

in south Wales on 30 March 1902. In 1927, he first travelled to Canada. He joined the merchant navy and became an engineering officer. With the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

most British merchant shipping was organised into

convoy A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

s, but German

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...

s and surface raiders still inflicted considerable losses during the

Battle of the Atlantic The Battle of the Atlantic, the longest continuous military campaign in World War II, ran from 1939 to the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945, covering a major part of the naval history of World War II. At its core was the Allied naval blockade ...

. Bastian was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

for his convoy service on 1 January 1942.Besly, p. 86 By 12 March 1942, Bastian was second engineer officer on SS ''Empire Bowman'', which was departing

Freetown, Sierra Leone Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educational and po ...

as part of Convoy SL 126, due to arrive in Liverpool at the beginning of April. On 30 March 1942 (coincidentally Bastian's 41st birthday), she was torpedoed by in the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

some north west of

Cape Finisterre Cape Finisterre (, also ; gl, Cabo Fisterra, italic=no ; es, Cabo Finisterre, italic=no ) is a rock-bound peninsula on the west coast of Galicia, Spain. In Roman times it was believed to be an end of the known world. The name Finisterre, like ...

. At great personal risk, Bastian rescued two stokers from the sinking ship, for which he was awarded the Albert Medal (AM) on 17 August 1943, the citation read: In 1944, Bastian was also awarded the

Lloyd's War Medal for Bravery at Sea The Lloyd's War Medal for Bravery at Sea is one of the four Lloyd's Medal types bestowed by Lloyd's of London. In 1939, with the coming of the Second World War, Lloyd's set up a committee to find means of honouring seafarers who performed acts of e ...

for his actions.Besly, p. 74

Later life and legacy

Soon after receiving his AM, Bastian was invalided out of the Merchant Navy as a result of the damage caused to his lungs by the

cordite Cordite is a family of smokeless propellants developed and produced in the United Kingdom since 1889 to replace black powder as a military propellant. Like modern gunpowder, cordite is classified as a low explosive because of its slow burni ...

smoke he inhaled during the rescue. In 1947, he settled in Canada, living in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

. The high status of the Albert Medal was not generally understood by the public, and in 1971

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

instructed all living recipients to exchange their original medal for the

(GC). The medal had been created by her father,

King George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of Ind ...

, in 194, in recognition of the hazards faced by the civilian population, and by merchant seamen such as Bastian. It was intended to have a similar status for civilian acts of gallantry, or for acts performed by members of the armed forces but which were not "in the face of the enemy", as the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

does for acts of gallantry in combat. On its creation, holders of the

Empire Gallantry Medal The Medal of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire for Gallantry, known as the Empire Gallantry Medal (EGM), was a British medal awarded for acts of gallantry. Unlike the then existing Sea Gallantry Medal (SGM) (1854), the Albert Medal ...

(EGM) were immediately instructed to exchange their medal for the GC, but holders of the AM and Edward Medal were not, despite these being higher in the order of wear than the EGM. Bastian received his GC in a presentation made by the

Governor-General of Canada The governor general of Canada (french: gouverneure générale du Canada) is the federal viceregal representative of the . The is head of state of Canada and the 14 other Commonwealth realms, but resides in oldest and most populous realm, t ...

on 27 November 1973. He presented his AM and Lloyd's Medal to the

National Museum Wales National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

. He died in Canada in November 1987, survived by his wife, Mary, and a son and a daughter. Soon after the award of the AM, Bastian's portrait was painted by war artist

Bernard Hailstone Bernard Hailstone (6 October 1910 – 27 December 1987) was an English painter, best known for his Second World War portraits of transport and civil defence workers painted in Britain, his portraits of members of the Armed Forces painted overse ...

; the painting now forms part of the

Government Art Collection The Government Art Collection (GAC) is the collection of artworks owned by the UK government and administered by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). The GAC's artworks are used to decorate major government buildings in t ...

. In 1990, a new road in his home town of Barry was named "Bastian Close" in his honour .

References

;Footnotes ;Bibliography * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bastian, Gordon Love 1902 births 1987 deaths Recipients of the Albert Medal (lifesaving) British Merchant Navy officers People from Barry, Vale of Glamorgan Welsh sailors Members of the Order of the British Empire British Merchant Navy personnel of World War II Canadian recipients of the George Cross