The uniface medal bears bust of Captain Arthur Rostron facing right. Around, S·S·TITANIC (laurel branch) APRIL·15·1912 (laurel branch) S·S·CARPATHIA / CAPTAIN · ROSTRON; signed to left and right of bust, © - SPICER·/SIMSON
The edge is marked with a faint "41"
On April 15, 1912, Arthur Henry Rostron (1869-1940) was a captain for the Cunard Line when his ship, the ocean liner RMS Carpathia, received a distress signal from the White Star liner RMS Titanic. The Titanic had struck an iceberg and was sinking rapidly. Rostron immediately ordered his ship to race for the sinking Titanic. His engineering crew coaxed the Carpathia's engines up to 17.5 knots, 3.5 knots over its rated speed. He took a huge risk racing through dense ice at night but he knew what was at stake when a major liner was sinking in freezing water in the middle of the Atlantic. In the 3.5 hours which it took to arrive at the Titanic's radioed position he gave 23 orders that would later prove to have saved lives. His crew prepared blankets, food and drinks and ended up rescuing 710 survivors from the freezing waters of the Atlantic.
Rostron was honored with the Congressional Gold Medal, the Thanks of Congress, the American Cross of Honor, and medals by the Liverpool and New York Shipwreck Societies. Rostron would eventually rise to the position of Commodore of the Cunard Line and served as a British Naval Officer during World War I.
The medal was privately commissioned by Titanic survivors Margaret Brown and Dennis Telluride.
The circular medal measures 51mm. Only 500 pieces were struck in bronze.