Red Ribbon Medal of Honour awarded in 1918

Medal was awarded on July 5, 1918. Reverse of the bar marked with ヒ https://asiamedals.info/threads/mark-hi-on-japanese-orders-and-medals-when-and-who.22787/.

Original case.

 

Thanks to the current owner of this rare set, we have the opportunity to attribute this interesting medal. Photos courtesy of the owner.

 

Medal was awarded to Chinese police officer Yáng Dǔ /楊篤/ who took part in the rescue of the crew of Hankaku Maru.

Steamship "Hankaku Maru" /阪鶴丸/ was initially assigned to the Azataka route in 1912 to handle group transportation for the Kotohira Shrine Spring Festival, and was later sold to Awa Province Joint Steamship Company /Awakuni Kyodo Kisen Co., Ltd./ in June of the same year. It then operated on the Korean Peninsula and North China (Incheon to Chefu (present-day Yantai), Dalian to Andong County, Dalian to Incheon). On December 25, 1916, it ran aground on a reef off the coast of Chefoo amid a fierce blizzard. Nearby vessels /crew of the small steamer, accompanied by a Japanese sailor, and the tugboat/ in the midst of the raging waves attempted to rescue the crew, they managed to save seven people, including Risaburo Tamaki, the Japanese first class navigator. Unfortunately, the stormy sea did not allow them to save anyone else, and the ship, along with passengers and crew members, disappeared into the sea.​