Can you i.d. These badged?

[Wartime Collectables]

Thanks in advance!

[Wartime Collectables]

And...

[GHP]

1.
弐等功労賞
栃木県消防議会
2nd Class Meritorious Service Medal
Tochigi Prefecture Firefighting Council

2.
Some sort of firefighting badge

3. (lifeboat association????) Judging from the motif of a life ring and anchor

Wooden box
正会員章
Regular member badge

Both badges have the same kanji in "seal script" which is hard to read. It reads counter-clockwise
凌波 **= seaworthiness

The nicer badge box has two kanji on label that I can see clearly.
水***会
Water *** Association

Get me a clear image of the interior box lid and I'll read it.

It might be the predecessor to the Japan Ship Machinery and Equipment Association -- but this is just a guess; I really need to read that label.


--Guy

[GHP]

水難救済会

FOUND IT!!! On Rich Catalano's great site:
Sea Disaster Rescue Society

水難救済会
Suinan Yūsai Kai
Shipwreck Aid/Relief Society

As Peterson mentions in his book, badges and medals awarded by this group are not official government-issued. They are issued solely by the Sea Disaster Rescue Society, which is in operation even today.

This group's pre-WW2 name was prefaced by the word 'Teikoku [Imperial]' and the inclusion of that word on the reverses indicates a pre-war vintage. See examples below.

See some medals HERE.

Generally speaking, badges indicate membership in the group, while medals were
given for merit. The medals had three classes. The membership badges seem to have a few different classes, too, indicated (as on the medals) by gold gilt.

Imperial/Teikoku = 帝國 [modern: 帝国]


--Guy

[GHP]

The society is still extant and the badges are still made today. If the word Japan is in the center on the reverse, it is modern; if the word Imperial is on the reverse, it is pre-1945.

日本 Nippon, Japan
帝國 Teikoku, Imperial

Japan Sea Disaster Rescue Society Meritorious badge with original kiri wood case. The word 'imperial [teikoku]' is not present, so this is a post-war medal.

Note that both badges read from the traditional right to left direction, so the kanji Teikoku and Nippon will look like this:

Teikoku:
國帝

Nippon:
本日

The Japan Sea Disaster Rescue Society was established in 1889 after the British ship Normanton sank in 1886 and all Japanese passengers perished:

The ship’s captain John William Drake and all European (ethnic British and German) crewmen escaped the sinking ship in lifeboats, leaving the non-European crewmen (twelve Indians and Chinese) and the 25 Japanese passengers aboard to fend for themselves. The Europeans were picked up by coastal fishermen who took them in. Three of the survivors of the shipwreck died of hypothermia and were buried once the crew reached the shore. None of the 25 Japanese passengers aboard the Normanton survived.

.....

Marine Rescue Japan

Influenced by the events surrounding the Normanton Incident, a volunteer-based marine rescue group known at the time as the Great Empire of Japan Marine Rescue Group was formed in 1889. It is today known as "Marine Rescue Japan"

Society History Page in Japanese page
Wiki Normanton Incident



Cheers,
--Guy

[Wartime Collectables]

Thank you all!