Robin Hoare Lieutenant Commander Keith Robin Hoare DSO & Bar , DSC , AM ( 26 September 1890 – 6 February 1959 ) was a British recipient of the Albert Medal , formerly the highest decoration for gallantry awarded to civilians or to military personnel for actions " not in the face of the enemy " in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth . Hoare was awarded the Albert Medal in 1918 for his actions in removing depth charge s from HM Motor Launch 356 after its engine room exploded , despite the flames , thus preventing a further explosion . With the establishment of the George Cross in 1940 , the Albert Medal was discontinued . Early life . Robin Hoare was born the son of Charles Arthur Richard Hoare , a Partner in C . Hoare & Co , bankers , and Beatrice Holme Sumner on 26 September 1890 . The family lived on the Isle of Wight but in 1892 moved to Hamble in Hampshire . He was educated at Northwood Park School on the Isle of Wight and Loretto School near Edinburgh . In his youth , he was a regular visitor to the Training Ship " Mercury " which from 1908 was managed by his mother and his stepfather , C . B . Fry . First World War . Hoare ' s first military experience came when he was commissioned into the 1st Hampshire Royal Garrison Artillery , Volunteer Force , as a second lieutenant on 6 December 1902 ; he later transferred to the Lancashire Royal Garrison Artillery . He then emigrated to New Zealand where he stayed for several years before working his passage home via Valparaíso where he collected some polo ponies for delivery to the United Kingdom . With the outbreak of the First World War in 1914 he was commissioned as a temporary sub - lieutenant in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve on 7 October 1914 , initially for service in the Royal Naval Division . He transferred to the Auxiliary Patrol on 27 November 1914 , and was promoted lieutenant on 7 October 1915 . In 1917 and early 1918 he made several applications for transfer to the submarine service or to larger craft : these were all refused . He was promoted to acting lieutenant commander on 25 February 1918 , and on 6 April 1918 , Hoare was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his service in the Patrol during the course of the previous year . On 12 April 1918 , the engine room of HM Motor Launch 356 exploded at Dunkirk quay , after a collision with another vessel , and the forward petrol tanks burst into flames . Several of the launch ' s crew were blown overboard by the explosion , while the remainder were driven off by the fire . Flames soon began to issue forth from the cabin , and burning petrol spread on the surface of the water . As others proceeded to flee the scene , Hoare , along with Lieutenant Arthur Bagot , realised the fire was threatening the aft petrol tanks and the depth charge s located on board the launch . Jumping in a dinghy , the pair rowed out towards the blaze . On reaching the wreck , Hoare and Bagot removed the depth charges despite the flames ; thus preventing any further explosion . For their actions during the incident , both Hoare and Bagot were awarded the Albert Medal . The announcement and accompanying citation for the award was published in the " London Gazette " on 20 August 1918 , reading : Appointed Commander of Motor Launch 283 , Hoare was in action at the First Ostend Raid on 23 April 1918 . Throughout the operation , the launch conducted duties of rescuing officers and men from HMS " Brilliant " and " Sirius " . Praised for " exercising the utmost coolness and judgement " during the engagement , Hoare was awarded the Distinguished Service Order . The notification of the award was published in a supplement to the " London Gazette " on 23 July 1918 . His acting rank was also confirmed as a further reward for his success in this operation . He was invested with his DSO and DSC by King George V in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace on 31 July 1918 . He was also involved in the Second Ostend Raid on 9 May 1918 , for which he received a Mention in Despatches and a Bar to his DSO on 28 August . He was given his AM and the Bar to his DSO in a further investiture soon after . He received further Mentions on 18 February 1919 ( relating back to the incident for which he also received his first DSO ) , and on 8 March 1919 . Hoare was demobilised on 24 September 1919 . Later life . After the War , Hoare became the manager of a fleet of fishing trawlers owned by " Sam Robford & Co " , a business based in Aberdeen . In 1926 , Robin Hoare , in partnership with Lieutenant Commander s Sydney Allen and Lionell Chappell , took an interest in the Honister Slate Mine in Borrowdale , Cumbria : Hoare became the Resident Director while his colleagues became sleeping partner s . At the start of the Second World War , Hoare returned the Royal Navy , seeing action on armed trawlers and latterly serving as Commanding Officer , HM Naval Base Haifa . He returned to Honister Slate Mine in 1945 . He died in 1959 while still active as Resident Director of the mine . In 1971 , the remaining living holders of the Albert Medal were instructed to return it , and they were issued with the George Cross in its place . Family . In 1919 he married Brenda Bardsley and together they had a son and three daughters . From around 1930 they lived at Portinscale near Keswick in Cumbia .