Silver Medal 1925/26

Silver Medal and Aneroid Barometer to Captain G Summers of the Steamship Strathugie of Aberdeen for the skilful and courageous rescue of 5 men from the Dutch motor schooner Marta in heavy seas off Fair Isle 9th October 1929.  Silver Medals and pecuniary awards were also made to the crew, Brown, Carnegie, Lochiel, Pearce, Porter, J Sutherland, Voight and Young

The Committee had their attention called to the very skilful and courageous rescue of five lives from the Danish motor schooner Marta (177 tons),which, with a crew of seven, left Thorshavn, Faroe, on October 9 1928, carrying 200 tons of salt fish for Hull. The following day she encountered rough weather and in the early morning of the 11th, when off Fair Isle ran into a full gale from the north-west. The heavy seas put the motor engine out of action, and the crew had to work hard at the pumps, but it was soon evident that the vessel was doomed. Attracted by the rockets and flares from the Marta, the st Strathugie (90 tons), of Aberdeen, stood in as near as possible, and the Skipper (G Summers) endeavoured to signal to the Danes to put out ropes to facilitate their rescue, but this was misunderstood, and they launched their boat, which soon capsized, and the Captain, who was the only one of the crew not wearing a lifebelt, was engulfed in the heavy sea and disappeared. It took over an

hour and a half for the crew of the Strathugie to pick up the men scattered about in the water, but they succeeded in saving 5 lives, the cook having been injured when the boat was smashed and being dead before he was got on board the trawler. The work of rescuing the men was made the more arduous from their all being heavily clad, with oilskins on, and wearing sea-boots. It took seven and a half hours for the Strathugie to reach Lerwick (40 miles) in the teeth of the gale. The Danish Vice Consul took charge of the five men, whilst the cook was buried at Lerwick, and a large number of persons attended the ceremony, the survivors being subsequently taken home in the Faorese ss Tjaldur. The Committee regarded the case as a very exemplary one, and awarded to the Skipper, Captain G Summers, an Aneroid with inscription, a purse of £5, also the Society’s Silver Medal, and to the rest of the crew, Mr A Brown, Mr D Carnegie, Mr J Lochiel, Mr W Pearce, Mr E Porter, Mr J Sutherland, Mr JC Voight and Mr JD Young, the Silver Medal and a purse of £3.