Description:

SS TUSCANIA LIFESAVING MEDAL
An excessively rare medal, likely one of only four, awarded by survivors of the SS TUSCANIA to British Chief Petty Officer John Newton Jones for his valiant efforts in rescuing 375 men from the sinking troop transport. On 24 January 1918, TUSCANIA sailed from departed Hoboken, New Jersey, with 384 crew members and 2,013 U.S. Army personnel aboard. On the early evening of Feb. 5, 1918, she was torpedoed by the German submarine UB-77, sending her to the bottom of the Irish Sea. About 210 of the troops and crew were lost, while many others were rescued by the Royal Navy destroyers MOSQUITO, GRASSHOPPER and PIGEON. Offered here is a period framed presentation of medals awarded to C.P.O. John Newton Jones of the Royal Navy. Central to the display is a 1.25 in. wide hand-engraved bronze medal given to Jones by the National Tuscania Survivors Association (and so engraved at bottom). The medal further displays crossed American and British flags surmounting a torpedo. A broad engraved image of the sinking troop ship slipping beneath the waves appears at bottom. The medal is accompanied on either side by four other medals, including the Merchant Marine World War II Victory Medal, World War I Victory Medal, the 1914/15 Star, and British War Medal. All World War I medals are marked: 'J. 10644 J.N. JONES. A.B. R.N.' These medals surround the text of a 1934 radio broadcast describing the sinking and the award of this medal to Jones 16 years after the event. Jones commanded a whaler dropped from the PIGEON which gathered eleven lifeboats carrying 375 men, all while under threat of enemy attack. The captains of the three responding destroyers were also awarded these medals, making a total of only four known to exist. An evocative grouping.

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August 25, 2021 10:00 AM EDT
Elkton, MD, US

Alexander Historical Auctions LLC

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