Introduction / The Island / Accidents and Wrecks / The "Hope"

Awards and Gifts

A number of awards were given and gifts made as a result of the rescue.

John Graham of Calfsound wrote to the Board of Trade on 3rd February 1909 to inform them of the events and this lead to the presentation of their Silver Medal.

At a meeting of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution on 11th February 1909, it was decided to award £3 to each of the five men who manned the rescue boat.

Andrew Carnegie was informed by officials and personally presented each of the five men with a cheque for £10 at a public meeting in Kirkwall Town Hall on Thursday 10th September 1909. William Burgar from Cott made the response to Mr Carnegie’s speech.

Gifts were in fact received from all over, even from Australia and New Zealand.

However, the highlight must have been the trip to Balmoral at the end of September for the presentation of the Board of Trade Silver Medal by His Majesty King Edward VIII.