The Order of Industrial Heroism was a private civil award given in the United Kingdom by the '' Daily Herald'' newspaper to honour examples of heroism carried out by ordinary workers. Many of the 440 awards were posthumous. Only two were made to a woman; six were awarded to large groups of miners, under the auspices of their trade union lodges. The medal of the Order was designed by sculptor

Eric Gill Arthur Eric Rowton Gill, (22 February 1882 – 17 November 1940) was an English sculptor, letter cutter, typeface designer, and printmaker. Although the ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' describes Gill as ″the greatest artist-cra ...

and issued in bronze with a burgundy ribbon. The medal bears the image of

Saint Christopher Saint Christopher ( el, Ἅγιος Χριστόφορος, ''Ágios Christóphoros'') is veneration, venerated by several Christianity, Christian denominations as a martyr killed in the reign of the 3rd-century Roman Empire, Roman emperor Deciu ...

bearing the

Christ Child The Christ Child, also known as Divine Infant, Baby Jesus, Infant Jesus, the Divine Child, Child Jesus, the Holy Child, Santo Niño, and to some as Señor Noemi refers to Jesus Christ from his nativity to age 12. The four canonical gospels, a ...

History

The Order was instituted in 1923 by the ''Daily Herald'' specifically to recognise the deeds of valour of those who had saved their fellow workers from danger or death. It was popularly known as the "Workers' VC". The institution of the medal was prompted by an incident in which four dockworkers helped control a major fire in the Liverpool docks, thereby saving the docks, shipping and a large part of the city, but were offered a reward of only £17, provoking a public outrage. Recipients were also given a monetary prize, and an Eric Gill designed certificate, depicting Saint Christopher, in front of a smoking chimney, carrying the Christ Child across water, towards a walled garden ("A Rose Plant in Jericho") with a

red star A red star, five-pointed and filled, is a symbol that has often historically been associated with communist ideology, particularly in combination with the hammer and sickle, but is also used as a purely socialist symbol in the 21st century. I ...

overhead, Certificates for individual men were inscribed:See images Later certificates used a variation on Gill's design. The ''Daily Herald'' was the official organ of the

Trade Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions in England and Wales, representing the majority of trade unions. There are 48 affiliated unions, with a total of about 5.5 million members. Frances O' ...

and one of the world's best-selling newspapers at the time. The award was presented 440 times up to 1964, when the newspaper closed. Sometimes there were multiple awards relating to one event; six of the awards were to miners' union lodges, rather than individuals, where a large number of members had been involved in mine rescues. Only one of the solo awardees, Ruth Stanaway, was a woman; another, Sister Eileen M. S. Wiltshire, received one alongside three men. OIH-Gill-Tate

Order of Industrial Heroism Medal - Front

The Herald's records relating to the award, comprising nineteen boxes, are held in perpetuity in the Trades Union Congress Library Collections at

London Metropolitan University London Metropolitan University, commonly known as London Met, is a public university, public research university in London, England. The University of North London (formerly the Polytechnic of North London) and London Guildhall University (f ...

. The

Modern Records Centre The Modern Records Centre (MRC) is the specialist archive service of the University of Warwick in Coventry, England, located adjacent to the Central Campus Library. It was established in October 1973 and holds the world's largest archive collecti ...

at the

University of Warwick The University of Warwick ( ; abbreviated as ''Warw.'' in post-nominal letters) is a public research university on the outskirts of Coventry between the West Midlands (county), West Midlands and Warwickshire, England. The university was founded i ...

holds correspondence about the possible continuation of the award, after 1964, in its TUC collection (Ref MSS.292B/790/2). Examples of the medal are in several museums, including the March & District Museum, Abertillery and District Museum,

Dorman Museum Dorman Museum is a local and social history museum on the town centre side of Albert Park, Linthorpe in Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. It is one of two museums operated by the local borough council, along with the Captain Cook birt ...

, and 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 ...

; and one is in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

coins and medal collection; it was donated by Sir

Arnold Wilson Sir Arnold Talbot Wilson (18 July 1884 – 31 May 1940) was a British soldier, colonial administrator, Conservative politician, writer and editor. Wilson served under Percy Cox, the colonial administrator of Mesopotamia (Mandatory Iraq) ...

in 1938. The

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

holds a specimen of the medal, with Gill's name inscribed on the rim. It also has Gill's 1923 proof copy of the woodcut artwork used on the award's certificates, which has "The Holy Ghost as a dove" in the place of the eventual red star. Other copies are in the

Tate collection Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...

, the

Fitzwilliam Museum The Fitzwilliam Museum is the art and antiquities museum of the University of Cambridge. It is located on Trumpington Street opposite Fitzwilliam Street in central Cambridge. It was founded in 1816 under the will of Richard FitzWilliam, 7th Vis ...

, Cambridge, the

Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (FAMSF), comprising the de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park and the Legion of Honor in Lincoln Park, is the largest public arts institution in the city of San Francisco. The permanent collection of the ...

, and the

Hesburgh Library Theodore Hesburgh Library is the primary building of the University of Notre Dame's library system. The present-day building opened on September 18, 1963, as Memorial Library. In 1987, it was renamed Hesburgh Library, in honor of Rev. Theodore Hesb ...

] at the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...

. The "dove" version was also published in ''Engravings by Eric Gill'' (1929).

References

Order of Industrial Heroism Medal - Reverse

* {{reflist

External links

Museum Wales page
showing medal awarded to J. Arthur Jones in 1958.
Union History page, showing reverse of a medal
1923 establishments in the United Kingdom Civil awards and decorations of the United Kingdom History of socialism Awards by newspapers

History

See also

References

External links