By Pauline Murphy
In December 2023 a silver RNLI medal was sold at Noonan's Auction House, Mayfair London, for £1,200. The story behind the medal is one of bravery and tragedy which played out in Cork harbour on Christmas Eve in the late 19th century.
The medal was awarded to Gunner Henry Stevens of the 10th Brigade, 24th Royal Artillery. He was stationed at Camden Fort and on the 24th of December 1878 Gunner Stevens risked his life to save stricken sailors.
That Christmas Eve was a stormy one in Cork. A fierce gale blew through the harbour and it's waters were unforgiving to anyone who dared sail them. For one ship and it's crew the wild weather proved fatal on that dark winter's night.
A brigantine called Princess Royal set sail from Rochester England just a few days before Christmas eve. It was bound for Cork with a cargo of cement and a crew of five. When the 37 year old vessel sailed into Cork harbour on Christmas Eve it encountered strong swells and attempted to sail into Crosshaven for shelter but, it ran aground on rocks under Camden Fort.
The mood inside the military fort that night was a festive one. Soldiers played cards while others sang carols but, outside on the blustery battery walls soldiers on duty witnessed the Princess Royal crash into rocks below the fort.
The Princess Royal had smashed into jagged rocks 20 yards from the wall of the battery and it's crew rang bells and lit distress torches. Gunner Stevens who was on duty on the battery ran down to the pier with his fellow soldiers Gunners Coombe, Dinert and Skinner to help rescue the crew of the Princess Royal.
Roche's Point coastguard were alerted and sent a tug boat to the Princess Royal but, the swell prevented them from reaching it. The Queenstown (Cobh) lifeboat was also called but, it was tending to another rescue elsewhere in the harbour.
Gunner Stevens , an athletic young man known as a strong swimmer, decided to risk his life and swim from the fort pier to the ship. He managed to make it to the hull of the ship where he saw sailors on deck frantically calling out for help. Gunner Stevens instructed the sailors to throw a rope to him but, before they could do that a wave washed him back towards the pier.
Determined Gunner Stevens tried again but, his second attempt almost cost him his life when he was violently pushed back by the waves. He was picked up by his fellow soldiers and carried back to the fort where he spent the rest of the festive season recovering from the injuries he sustained for his act of bravery.
In February 1879 an inquiry in what became known as the Princess Royal Disaster was held in Cobh. The Cork Examiner of February 10th 1879 reported on Gunner Stevens' testimony. He described his second attempt at saving the crew of the Princess Royal: "I went into the water a second time, but could not swim clear of the rocks. I was cut about the body and face. If they threw the rope out I believe I could have saved them. My intention was to tie a rope around my waist and swim ashore."
While Gunner Stevens survived that Christmas Eve storm in Cork harbour the same cannot be said for the five man crew of the Princess Royal. The ship broke into pieces on the treacherous rocks under Camden Fort and all onboard perished. When dawn broke the next morning, Christmas day, locals in the Crosshaven area along with soldiers at Camden Fort, recovered bodies and wreckage.
Gunner Stevens was nominated by the RNLI for a medal and he was also awarded £1 by the military for the bravery he displayed on that dark Christmas Eve in the perilous waters of Cork harbour.
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