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Archiver > GALLANTRY-AWARDS > 2006-11 > 1164384932


From: "Chris Woods" <>
Subject: Re: [GAL] Sea Gallantry Medal
Date: Fri, 24 Nov 2006 16:15:32 -0000
References: <000001c70fb4$486b4cf0$7df28d56@b9k86hu47j5sxq>


Bernard,

Yep. I'll contact anyone who I think can be of use. I've already posted
your email on the RN messageboard: , and the
similar Army messageboard.
There should be a site for the fishing industry too if I can find it.

I'll see if I can get something into our Merchant Navy Officers association
(M.N.A.O.A./numast, and now called Neptune UK) excellent monthly
newsletter, and will certainly approach the Marine Society.

Prescott would be a good target for you... always had a soft spot for the
seafarers.

After all, we eventually managed to get the Government to produce the
Arctic Convoys badge and the similar badge for Blethcley park.

May I ask if you could compose a few lines and perhaps email me direct -
something precis from you giving details of the importance of the medal and
some examples of it's issus, including later ones, will be much more
useful than my attempt to explain the problem.

Chris

----- Original Message -----
From: "Bernard de Neumann" <>
To: <>
Sent: Friday, November 24, 2006 10:35 AM
Subject: Re: [GAL] Sea Gallantry Medal


> Chris, I wrote to HM The Queen about this more than a year ago - the
result:
> no reply. This is of no particular surprise as the monarch will not
> publicly embroil herself in controversy. When I noticed that MOD(N) did
> not list it as an award open to their personnel, I wrote to them and asked
> why, and received a rather snooty reply from the Second Sea Lord saying
that
> RN personnel were not eligible for it. I seem to have put his nose out of
> joint because I replied with a list of all those from the RN who had
> previously been awarded one - including Admiral Mountevans of the Broke,
> Admiral Max Horton, Admiral Lord Jellicoe, and to a (at the time) serving
> sea-going admiral - Rear-Admiral Sir Christopher George Francis Maurice
> Cradock, KCVO, CB. Needless to say I've heard nothing back since from 2SL
> either.
>
> What would be helpful is if some others, like yourself, would join in and
> take up the cudgels. A possible way ahead to stir up interest might be to
> try to interest one of the MN allied MPs by pointing out that the ONLY
medal
> awarded by Parliament, not the Sovereign, may have been quietly dropped
> without reference to the House. This, we could suggest, is the equivalent
to
> "contempt of court" and we know how that is treated; even when the offence
> itself is very minor.
>
> Do you think that you could try and interest the Marine Society?
>
> Bernard de Neumann
>

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