The Society’s General Medal, which has a red and white striped ribbon, was introduced in 1894 because for a long time difficulty had been experienced in providing suitable honorary awards for lifesaving acts for which the Marine or Fire Medal were not appropriate. Records of its designer have never come to light, but its reverse is the same as is found on the Marine and Fire Medal and its obverse is the imprint of a Cross Pate (similar to a Maltese Cross) with superimposed crown. At the bottom are the words “FOR BRAVERY IN SAVING LIFE, 1894.”
Only one Gold Medal has ever been awarded; it was for a gallant but unsuccessful attempt in 1894 to save the life of a man who had been caught in some machinery, the would-be rescuer himself becoming entangled in it and suffering serious injury.
To 1st July 2016 there have been 446 Silver General Medals and 72 Silver Bars and 869 Bronze General Medals and 16 Bronze Bars awarded, and of these 1,400 awards, over 1,200 were for the stopping of runaway horses. Practically every one of these heroic deeds took place on the streets of Liverpool when, more often than not, it required the rescuer to leap out in front of one or a pair of frightened horses stampeding down a cobbled street pulling a heavily laden wagon at speed. It was not unusual for the rescuer to be seriously injured on these occasions.
