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Auction: 25113 - Orders, Decorations and Medals - e-Auction
Lot: 577

An unusual Sea Gallantry Medal group of three awarded to Pilot J. Ribillard, French Marine, who worked tirelessly to rescue the crew of the Glenroy when their ship was wrecked off Algeria

France, Republic, Allied Victory Medal 1914-1919; 1914-1918 Commemorative War Medal; Great Britain, Kingdom, Sea Gallantry Medal, G.V.R., bronze (Joseph Riballard. "Glenroy" 10th February 1916), good very fine (3)

Joseph Ribillard was working as a pilot at Les Falaises, Algeria in 1916 where he was engaged in guiding ships around the headlands off The Cliffs', a loading station supplied by the Beni-Eelkaj Mining Company Ribillard, as a local pilot, must have had a remarkable grasp of the local landscape and the dangers of the region, had he been aboard Glenroy when she ran into trouble it would have greatly increased her chance of survival.

Unfortunately, on the morning on 10 February 1916 Glenroy anchored at Bougie Bay to await the arrival of the pilot. Unfortunately before Ribillard could join them a violent storm blew up which worried the manager of the mining station Mr Blake-Thomas, in a moment of remarkable foresight he insured that ropes and lights were made ready should the anchor break. Members of the mining company kept watch over the vessel through the night and during his own watch Blake-Thomas heard the anchor cable snap.

A rescue party was immediately organised which included the brave Ribillard who joined the group of seven men rushing to the cliffs. Despite the storm they scrambled down the 150 foot cliffside and made their way to a rock where they attached a line to the ship and held it in place for the crew to scramble down. Battered by the sea and wind they remained there, the rock getting more and more crowded and, due to the crowding, more perilous they rescued all 23 men of the crew.

The Sea Gallantry Medal by Bob Scarlett refers:

'The steamship Glenroy (2755 tons, built 1899), of West Hartlepool, stranded at Les Falaises, Algeria, whilst on a voyage from Malta to Bougie and became a total loss. Immediately the vessel stranded, Mr. Thomas organised a party which proceeded to the spot with ropes and lights. The rescuers descended a dangerous cliff and proceeded to a large rock near the vessel. A line was then thrown from the ship to the men on the rock, who held the rope while one by one the ship's crew passed down it on to the rock. There was a strong gale and a heavy sea, which at times submerged the rocks.'

Bibillard was one of seven men awarded a Sea Gallantry medal for his bravery. He is known to have remained in the area after the closure of the Beni-Eelkaj mines and died in the area at the age of 72; sold together with copied research and a copy of the an article entitled A Tale of Everyday Heroism by Malcom Wilson published in The Life Saving Awards Research Society relating the story of the group.

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Estimate

Starting price
£210