On the 25th September 1962, Sir Nicholas Cayzer, Chairman of British and Commonwealth Shipping, presented a gold watch to 37-year-old able seaman Thomas Archibald, at Cayzer House, in recognition of an action of exceptional bravery that Archibald had undertaken while serving on the Stirling Castle.
October 1962 p18
Archibald, a South African by birth, had jumped into what were described later as shark-infested waters to aid a shipmate, who had already been attacked by a shark. Both Archibald and his shipmate, John MacIver, were trying to rescue a passenger who had jumped overboard, but in the end, Archibald had rescued both the other two men. For MacIver it was already too late.
As if this story were not already dramatic enough, it turned out from correspondence in the Lord Cayzer papers, that the gold watch was only the start of something of a drama surrounding Mr Archibald.
Just over a week after the presentation, on the 3rd October, Sir Nicholas wrote a letter to Mr A.W. Wood at the Ministry of Transport:
“We wish to bring to your attention acts of great heroism on the part of two members of the crew of our RMMV “Stirling Castle”, namely T.D. Archibald , A.B., and J. MacIver, D.H.U., who were involved in the rescue of a man in mid Atlantic at about 8.40 am on 13th September.
“At this time, J, Allan, a D.B.S. who was being repatriated from south Africa in the vessel, jumped overboard. The “Stirling Castle” was immediately turned and two lifeboats were lowered. Allan was seen to be swimming away from the ship and when one of the lifeboats came alongside him he resisted attempts at rescue. To assist in saving him, MacIver, who was a member of the crew of one of the boats, entered the water, but he was not as strong a swimmer as Allan and Archibald, who was in the other lifeboat, also jumped into the water and was eventually successful in forcing Allan alongside one of the boats in spite of his struggles. Allan was picked up and Archibald then went to the assistance of MacIver who appeared to be in difficulty. Before Archibald could reach him MacIver was bitten by a shark and received severe injuries from which he subsequently died. The occupants of the boats were ordered to beat the water with their oars and Archibald supported the injured man until they were pulled to the boat by a line. By this time MacIver was unconscious and both men were lifted onboard.
Allan subsequently underwent a medical examination on board the “Stirling Castle” and the ship’s Surgeon pronounced him to be mentally unbalanced.
We are sure you will agree that both Archibald and MacIver showed great courage and disregard for their own safety in entering shark infested waters to effect this rescue, their action being in the highest tradition of the Merchant Service, and we wish to commend their bravery for consideration as recipients of an award from Her Majesty The Queen in the case of Archibald and a posthumous award in the case of MacIver.”
A.B. = Able Seaman
D.H.U. = Uncertified Deck Hand
D.B.S. = Distressed British Seaman
Mr Wood replied on the 5th October 1962, thanking Sir Nicholas for his letter:
“We are already looking into the matter and the information you have given will be helpful in our consideration of the case.”
There was then a very long silence from October until 7th June 1963, when Mr Wood wrote to Sir Nicholas again, referencing his previous letter and announcing progress:
“I am glad to inform you that on the Minister’s recommendation Her Majesty The Queen has been graciously pleased to make the award of the Silver Medal of Gallantry in Saving Life at Sea to both men…”
Copies of the letters sent to Mr Archibald and Mr MacIver’s mother were attached to this letter. The awards would officially be announced in the London Gazette on Tuesday 11th June and the news was embargoed until then. data.pdf (thegazette.co.uk).
Sir Nicholas acknowledged this letter just over a week later. He was pleased that the awards were indeed going to be made to both men for their bravery, and added “This is indeed good news, and in the case of Mrs MacIver must be some consolation in her very sad loss.”
On 1st July 1963 Mr Wood sent out another letter, marked ‘CONFIDENTIAL’. Mr Archibald was about to be summoned to an investiture at Buckingham Palace on the 24th July, to receive the Silver Sea Gallantry Medal from Her Majesty The Queen. There was only one real fly in the ointment according to Mr Wood:
“I understand that the “Stirling Castle” is in Southampton at the moment and that she will be sailing again in the course of this week. If Mr Archibald misses the investiture this time, there will not be another one until late October, and I am writing to enquire if there is any possibility of his being available on the 24th July.”
Elsewhere in the letter, Mr Wood also mentioned that Mrs MacIver, mother of the late John MacIver would be received separately by The Queen at a Next-of-Kin Ceremony to be held before the Investiture. This, doubtless, was to allow people receiving posthumous awards on behalf of their loved ones, to do so in a more sensitive environment, than in the main investiture ceremony.
Sir Nicholas received this letter in the morning of the following day, since he immediately sat down to write a response on the 2nd July, similarly marked ‘CONFIDENTIAL’. After an opening pleasantry, Sir Nicholas got right down to business:
“Privately, I am very nervous of Mr Archibald attending this investiture. He is a very rough character, and I would not like to be responsible for what might happen. We presented him with a gold watch as a recognition of his gallant action, but he sold it the next day.
“I put this to you quite privately and feel it would be far safer if you sent the medal here and for me to present it to him on behalf of Her Majesty. Perhaps you will think this point over.”
Now, quite apart from the bombshell about the watch, what Sir Nicholas was suggesting was not unprecedented. There were only so many investiture ceremonies a year, and not every seafarer could guarantee to be available to receive their award if they were working on the ships. This would not be the first award that Sir Nicholas had handed out, and there were quite strict rules. The medal and any additional paperwork would be sent to Sir Nicholas at Cayzer House, and there was a requirement to prove that the award had been made (a photograph would suffice).
Sir Nicholas’s suggestion was not unreasonable, but alas this was one occasion where he was unable to intervene. Mr Wood responded officially (and confidentially) three days later:
“We are advised that it is not possible to delegate the presentation of the Sea Gallantry Medal, and an invitation to Mr Archibald to attend an Investiture must necessarily be issued…
“I propose to make an informal approach to the National Union of Seamen with regard to Mr Archibald’s behaviour at an Investiture, and anything you may be able to do to enable the occasion to pass off smoothly will be appreciated.”
Sir Nicholas conceded the point in the final letter of this series, dated 9th July 1963:
“I note what the situation is regarding Mr Archibald. I will do all I can to help, and only hope that things pass off smoothly.”
There were now only fifteen days to the investiture on the 24th July, and it is probable that at least some of that time was spent in acquiring a suit for Mr Archibald. As has already been noted, Mr Archibald was a 37-year-old seaman, and in the photograph with Sir Nicholas taken at Cayzer House, he is wearing his work clothing, a coarse linen shirt (without a tie) and a well-worn donkey-jacket. It’s quite likely that he owned no smarter or cleaner clothes as up until the shark incident, there had been no real need for them. There’s no shame in that, at all, but it seems unlikely that Sir Nicholas would have been content to let Mr Archibald represent British and Commonwealth Shipping at Buckingham Palace, before the Queen, in his work-clothes. Unfortunately there is no further correspondence on the matter, so we will never know what Mr Archibald wore to the Palace, or whether he actually kept the medal. I would like to believe that he did.