shannon and chesapeake action

[janbee]

I have a coin type medallion (the size and colour of an old penny). On the front are the words "centenary of shannon and chesapeake action 1st June 1813." There is a picture of the ship and the dates 1813-1913. On the back are the words " presented by two grand-daughters of Captain Philip Broke". I have searched on google and there is a whole load of info about this BUT... not the info I'm looking for, which is, a) what is this medallion? b) why was it struck? c) how many were there? d) is it worth anything? e) who were the two grand-daughters?. I've also tried writing to the maritime./naval museum in Portsmouth but have never received a reply. I really want to know if anyone would like to have this and possibly any other descendents of Captain Philip Broke? Maybe there were loads of these things made and they are of no interest whatsoever. Can anyone enlighten me please as to what exactly this is? Thank you.

[bookbinder]

Hello, janbee. This will probably be my last message on this subject. I have nothing positive to report, but I'll give you an outline of what I have found. I have gone down several blind alleys, and banged my head against innumerable brick walls. Anyway, the first thing is: I'm certain that the medallion was made by Goldsmiths & Silversmiths Company. Letters below Capt. Broke's portrait are G. & S. Co. Ld, not C. & S. Co.Ld, as I 1st thought. G. & S. Co. (founded 1880, premises at 112 Regent St. London), merged 1952 with Garrard & Co. They made medals, as well as gold & silver items. Records of Garrards (&, presumably, G. & S.) are at Victoria & Albert Museum, Hammersmith. Second, and last, thing is: I have spoken with a noted writer of naval books because I was told that he might be able to help re the medallion, but he couldn't help. He has written a book about Broke & Shannon, but knew nothing about your medallion. I could find nothing useful online. Some digging in record offices etc. is required. I posted a message on Yahoo!Answers, and received a lot of help from one correspondent, but none of it led anywhere. It's time to call it a day, I think. I'll probably see you in the Crosswords section of AB. All the best. Over and out.

[janbee]

Hello again Bookbinder. Thank you for all your continued efforts. I have sent the medal to the Royal Naval Museum at Portsmouth and I've given them all the info you gave me. They will now try to do some further digging of their own. In the meantime, they say they are very pleased to have the medal as they are very short of material relating to the war of 1812-15 and it will be of great interest to their American visitors. If you're ever in Portsmouth, pop in and see it. After all, you did all the work on it. In the meantime the offer of a pint still stands if you're ever in this neck of the woods. Thanks again for all your very kind help and VERY dogged digging around. Yes, We'll probably catch up from time to time in the Xword sections. Best wishes

[PaulJB]

This correspondence is a bit old now and may have been superseded, but just in case it has not, I can confirm that the medal was definitely presented to the crew of the 1913 HMS Shannon. Here in Ipswich we have, and continue to celebrate, the Bi-Centenary of the Shannon Chesapeake Action this year. As part of a display the staff at the Ipswich Branch of the Suffolk Record Office dug out an old local newspaper clipping from 1937 showing a photograph of the medal. The text is as follows:- "Ipswich Souvenir of a Memorable Sea Fight" 'A medallion commemorating the epic sea fight between the Shannon and Chesapeake in 1813 as described in the East Anglian Daily Times on Tuesday; was given to members of the crew of HMS Shannon by the granddaughters of Capt. Broke at the centenary of the fight in 1913.
The accompanying illustrations show the obverse and the reverse of the medallion. They are reproduced by courtesy of Mr J Hindle of the Rising Sun Princes Street, Ipswich who in 1913 was a Master at Arms aboard HMS Shannon. It is the only one in existence in Ipswich.'(end of column)

I have seen quite a few of these medallions come up for sale, sometimes silvered over the copper and that usually mostly worn off. I expect that the silvered version was presented to the Officers of the ship.
Paul