A 'Channel Islands Incident' S.G.M. group of four awarded to Lieutenant W. A. Windows,...

A ‘Channel Islands Incident’ S.G.M. group of four awarded to Lieutenant W. A. Windows, Royal Navy, late H.M. Coast Guard, for his gallantry in rescuing the crew of the schooner Le Petit Raymond that was driven ashore on Alderney on 18 September 1906 Sea Gallantry Medal, E.VII.R., small, bronze (William Windows, Wreck of the “Le Petit Raymond” on the 18th September 1906); British War Medal 1914-20 (Ch. Offr. W. A. Windows. R.N.); Royal Navy L.S. & G.C., E.VII.R. (W. A. Windows, Cd. Boatn. H.M. Coast Guard); France, Third Republic, Medal of Honour, Ministry of the Marine, silver (Window (William) Batelier 1906) the first three mounted as worn, the last loose in embossed case of issue, the two E.VII.R. awards with contact marks and edge bruising, these nearly very fine, the rest better (4) £600-£800 --- Provenance: Spink, May 2002. William Albert Windows was serving as a Commissioned Boatman in the Coast Guard's Essex Hill Station, on Alderney, at the time of participating in the rescue of the crew of the Schooner Le Petit Raymond. A hand-written report of the incident, included with the lot, states: ‘The French Schooner Le Petit Raymond, bound from Laque to Southampton, having part of her canvas blown away in the Channel, became unmanageable and was driven ashore during a N.E. gale on 8 September [1906] on the N.E. coast of Alderney at 12.20 p.m. On the vessel striking, the seas commenced to break over her. The crew got their boat out but as they made no attempt to leave the vessel and the boat was in danger of being broken up, and also the crew being in danger of being washed overboard or killed by falling spars as the vessel was striking very heavily. William Windows voluntarily swam off to the vessel with a line line [in order to] persuade the crew to get into their boat, [but ended up] giving his life line to them to enable them to be hauled ashore, which they did. The [French] crew seemed to be dazed and exhausted, as they left Windows to return to shore as best he could, after being washed about alongside the wreck for quarter of an hour.’ The crew of the French schooner were all successfully brought ashore, and Windows succeeded in swimming ashore. Sold with a quantity of original documentation including Coast Guard Certificate for the Rank of Chief Officer (dated 1903); a hand-written report regarding the Le Petit Raymond incident in September 1906; Buckingham Palace ‘Permission to Wear' correspondence (dated 1907); a Letter of Commendation as a Wireless Operator (dated 1913); an official communication confirming the recipient's retirement rank of Lieutenant, R.N. (dated 1923); and copied research.