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Royal Humane Society
Instituted 1774 Registered Charity Number 231469
Captain Matthew Webb
(1848-1883)
But he first came to public notice a yearearlier when he won the Royal Humane Society gold medal for attempting to save
the life of a man who'd fallen from the rigging of a ship into the sea. He was the first person to be awarded the medal, which is also known as the Stanhope Medal.
Webb was on board the Cunard vessel, Russia, sailing from New York to Liverpool. A young man, Michael Hynes, fell overboard and Webb took immediate action. This is how he describes the episode in his autobiography, The Art of Swimming:
"I myself saw him fall, and within two or three seconds I was in the water, but, alas! nothing could I see of him save his cap.
"It was generally supposed afterwards that, in falling, he must have been struck by the propeller, and have gone down upon the spot. As I have remarked, the sea was very rough, and the ship was going at full speed.
"I was in the water thirty-seven minutes before I was picked up by a lifeboat which was lowered for the purpose. I had nothing, however, but the poor fellow's cap to bring with me.
"For this attempt to save life, I received a
gold medal from the Royal Humane Society of London. This medal, which is perhaps better known as the
"Stanhope Gold Medal", is annually presented by the trustees of the Royal Humane Society to anyone who, in the course, of the year, should, in their opinion, perform the best act in connection with saving human life; and I shall always look back upon being the recipient of the first
gold medal
ever given away as one of the most fortunate coincidences in what, I am bound now to admit, has been a somewhat fortunate career."In addition to this gold medal - which, on the occasion of the Royal Humane Society's dinner, was presented to me in person by the Duke of Edinburgh - I received another medal from the Liverpool Humane Society; and the passengers on board the Russia showed their liberality by collecting for me the sum of £100."
Webb was born on 19 January 1848 in Dawley, Shropshire. After achieving worldwide fame for his Channel swim, he took part in swimming exhibitions and endurance tests - simply as a means of earning money. In 1883, he decided to have a go at swimming the Niagara Rapids from Canada to America. The attempt - on 24 July - was to end in tragedy with the 35-year old Webb drowning in the turbulent river.
A monument to Matthew Webb now stands in his home town of Dawley. It bears the inscription: Nothing great is easy.
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