The Stanhope Medal or Stanhope Gold Medal is an international award given annually by the United Kingdom's

Royal Humane Society The Royal Humane Society is a British charity which promotes lifesaving intervention. It was founded in England in 1774 as the ''Society for the Recovery of Persons Apparently Drowned'', for the purpose of rendering first aid in cases of near dro ...

for the most courageous and heroic rescue that was made in the previous year. It is named in memory of British

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

officer Chandos Scudamore Scudamore Stanhope, who performed several life-saving events during his lifetime.

Background

The "Stanhope Medal" is named after British

officer Chandos Scudamore Scudamore Stanhope (1823–1871). He served as a naval officer mate from November 1842 after he passed his officer's exam. He was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

in March 1846. Stanhope was also a

personal assistant A personal assistant, also referred to as personal aide (PA) or personal secretary (PS), is a job title describing a person who assists a specific person with their daily business or personal task,. it is a sub-specialty of secretarial duties ...

to First Lord of the Admiralty

Hugh Childers Hugh Culling Eardley Childers (25 June 1827 – 29 January 1896) was a British Liberal statesman of the nineteenth century. He is perhaps best known for his reform efforts at the Admiralty and the War Office. Later in his career, as Chancellor ...

. He served on , a 50-gun ship with captains Sir John Hay and Sir Provo William Parry Wallis. He was appointed in December 1846 to , a 110-gun ship of Sir John West at Devonport. Stanhope later served from August 1847 in the Pacific on , an 84-gun ship commanded by Rear-Admiral

Phipps Hornby Admiral Sir Phipps Hornby, (27 April 1785 – 19 March 1867) was a prominent and experienced Royal Navy officer of the nineteenth century. Hornby served on frigates throughout most of his wartime experience, which included witnessing the Nore M ...

. Stanhope became a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in August 1858. He commanded from

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

in 1867. Stanhope received a

Silver Medal in 1851 for the rescue of a drowning seaman. He died from

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

in 1871 when he was 48 years old. Soon after his death a group of his friends formed a memorial in his honour and raised four hundred poundsa large sum at the timefor the issuance of a yearly gold medal honoring a courageous rescue. They gave the money to the Royal Humane Society on the terms that any interest the money earned would be for a periodic gold medal to be given for the greatest gallantry of a hero of the previous year. It is called the "Stanhope Medal."

Description

The Royal Humane Society issues the Stanhope Medal as the highest of several heroism awards. The award is presented annually for the most gallant rescue of the previous twelve months. The first gold medal was awarded to

Matthew Webb Captain Matthew Webb (19 January 1848 – 24 July 1883) was an English swimmer and stuntman. He is the first recorded person to swim the English Channel for sport without the use of artificial aids. In 1875, Webb swam from Dover to Calais in l ...

for an attempt to rescue a man drowning 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 ...

in 1873. From 1962, several societies began nominating rescues for the award, including the Liverpool Shipwreck and Humane Society and the Humane Societies in Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. In five years1959, 1960, 1961, 1969, and 1973 no medal was awarded as no rescue was deemed sufficiently worthy during the previous 12 months, while on three occasions2001, 2002 and 2019 the standard for the award was met by two nominees and both received the medal. There have been two posthumous awards, in 1956 and in 2018. The obverse shows a boy blowing at an extinguished torch with the inscription ''Lateat Scintillvia Forsan'', which means "a small spark may perhaps lie hid", the motto of the Royal Humane Society. The reverse has a wreath and a suitable inscription. The medal was suspended from a distinctive plaque-shaped bar, embossed with the date of award and the words STANHOPE MEDAL until about 1936, when this was replaced with ornamental style suspender. Originally of 18-carat gold, this was changed to 9-carat in 1942. Apart from the metal, the medal is now identical to the Royal Humane Society's bronze and silver awards. Although not an official award, the medal can be worn on the right chest in uniform by members of the British armed forces.

Police officer award

The Royal Humane Society Police Medal is awarded each year to a United Kingdom police officer whose lifesaving act is judged more notable than others. The society began issuing the award in 2000. Recipients of the Stanhope Gold Medal do not receive the Royal Humane Society Police Medal on the same notable event.

Notable recipients

The standard for the award of the Stanhope Gold Medal has been met by the following notable recipients for the years designated. *

Captain Matthew Webb Captain Matthew Webb (19 January 1848 – 24 July 1883) was an English swimmer and stuntman. He is the first recorded person to swim the English Channel for sport without the use of artificial aids. In 1875, Webb swam from Dover to Calais in l ...

(1873) *

Robert Archibald James Montgomerie Rear-Admiral Robert Archibald James Montgomerie, (11 September 1855 – 1 September 1908) was a British Royal Navy officer, who received the Albert Medal for Lifesaving. Naval career Montgomerie joined the Royal Navy, and served on the roya ...

(1877) *

Edmund Fremantle Admiral The Honourable Sir Edmund Robert Fremantle (16 June 1836 – 10 February 1929) was a Royal Navy officer who served as Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth (at the time, and from 1845 to 1900, formally known as Commander-in-Chief, Devonport). Na ...

(1880) *

Willoughby Baynes Huddleston Commander Willoughby Baynes Huddleston (1866-1953) was a Commander in the Royal Indian Marine and Aide-de-Camp to Lord Pentland, Governor of Madras (1912–19).Obituary in ''The Times'', ''Captain W.B. Huddleston'', 5 May 1953, p.8 He held ...

(1891) *

Wilfred Tomkinson Vice Admiral Wilfred Tomkinson, (15 November 1877 – 7 October 1971) was a Royal Navy officer who served as commander of the Battlecruiser Squadron from 1931 to 1934. Naval career Tomkinson joined the Royal Navy in 1891 and served in the destr ...

(1913) *

Evelyn Irons Evelyn Graham Irons (17 June 1900 – 3 April 2000) was a Scottish journalist, the first female war correspondent to be decorated with the French Croix de Guerre. Early life Irons was born in Govan, Glasgow to Joseph Jones Irons, a stockbroker, ...

(1935) – first woman recipient *

Richard Stanton Richard Stanton (October 8, 1876 – May 22, 1956) was an American actor and director of the silent era. He appeared in 68 films between 1911 and 1916. He also directed 57 films between 1914 and 1925. He was born in Iowa and died in Los An ...

(2019) *

John Volanthen John Paul Volanthen, (born June 1971) is a British cave diver who undertakes cave rescues through the Cave Rescue Organisation, South and Mid Wales Cave Rescue, and the British Caving Association. In 2018, he played a leading role in the Tham L ...

(2019)

References

Sources

* * * * * {{cite book , last=O’Byrne, first=William R. , title=A Naval Biographical Dictionary – Volume 3, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wFy-BAAAQBAJ&pg=PA1108, date=6 February 2012 , location=Luton , publisher=Andrews UK Limited, isbn=978-1-78150-281-5 Royal charities of the United Kingdom Organizations established in 1871 Lifesaving organizations Awards established in 1873 1873 establishments in the United Kingdom