yet only a R.N.L.I. Gold medal was awarded -
I can see that from the outside it would appear that the state is not recognising the gallantry of lifeboat crews, but within the lifeboat service the RNLI lifesaving medals are very highly regarded indeed. The RNLI Gold Medal is exceptionally rare, only 150 have been awarded since its inception in 1825 (sic) - compare with over 2000 George Medals since 1940. Even the silver medal has only been awarded around 1600 times.
As I have said elsewhere, it is the rarity of all our gallantry awards that make them so highly thought of. If we sprinkled them around like the Soviets or the North Koreans the whole system would rightly be regarded with disdain