DALZELL STEEL (David Colville & Sons Ltd) - an antique 21 years long-service award medal in original presentation case (scarce)

Postage is extra.

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For sale is a long-service medal awarded by David Colville & Sons Ltd to employee Henry Bell for 21 years service at the Dalzell steel works. This medal is a scarce item of memorabilia relating to the history of steel production in Scotland and also of Britain as a whole.

The obverse shows an image of David Colville (1813-1897) with text DAVID COLVILLE, FOUNDER OF THE COMPANY 1813 1897. The reverse side of this medal gives the company name DAVID COLVILLE & SONS LTD – MOTHERWELL – DALZELL STEEL – JUBILEE 1921 (Golden Jubilee) and awarded to employee HENRY BELL for 21 YEARS SERVICE. The medal measures 1.5” (38mm) diameter, is struck in copper and comes with its original presentation case.

David Colville & Sons Ltd was established in 1871 at Motherwell in North Lanarkshire, Scotland. The company produced mainly malleable iron and mill-rolled steel at its Dalzell Iron & Steel Works, close to the Dalzell coal collieries. By the First World War, the Dalzell works were the largest producer of iron and steel in Britain and continued to expand to become one of the largest steel producing plants, not just in Britain but also in Europe. The bulk of work carried out at Dalzell was the smelting and rolling of steel plate. Incidentally, the Dalzell works supplied the steel plate for the White Star liners Titanic (1912), as well as her sister ships the Olympic (1911) and Britannic (1914).

There is a historical timeline of the company and web links below.

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DESCRIPTION:
Size (medal): about 1 1/2" diameter (38mm).
Material(s): die-stamped bronze.
Finish: copper wash.
Fitting: n/a. Comes in its original presentation case.
Imprint: see text above.
Weight (excluding transit packaging): medal only about 29.3g (medal + case about 56.5g).
Approximate age: early 1920s.

CONDITION:
Medal in very good condition. No damage. Copper wash worn. Case in good condition overall with edge wear to the leatherette covering. Clip and hinge both in good working order.
Please see photograph(s), these form part of the description.

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1871 David Colville & Sons established.
1872 Dalzell Steel & Iron Works established at Motherwell.
1951 Colville nationalised to become part of the Iron and Steel Corporation of Great Britain.
1955 Privatised and construction of the Ravenscraig Steel Works began.
1957 Ravenscraig Steel Works completed at a cost of some £22.5 million & a number of older Colville furnaces demolished.
1959 With the opening of the new Ravenscraig Steel Works, from 1959 much of the iron production was shifted off-site from Dalzell.
1962 A new semi-continuous Strip Mill completed at Revenscraig
1967 Renationalised and became part of British Steel Corporation.
1992 Ravenscraig works closes, signalling the end of large-scale steel production in Scotland. But nearby steel plants at Dalzell in Motherwell and Clydebridge remain open.
2014 Dalzell purchased by Tata Steel.
2015 Dalzell works ‘mothballed’ by Tata Steel.
2016 Dalzell steel works reopens.
2017 Sale of Dalzell to Liberty Speciality Steels completed.
2024 Liberty Steels suspends orders from the Dalzell works, increasing risks for the plant’s closure.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Colville_%26_Sons (David Colville & Sons Ltd).

https://culturenl.co.uk/museums/steeling-back-memories-ravenscraig/david-colville-sons/ (Colvilles Ltd).

https://www.railscot.co.uk/locations/D/Dalzell_Steel_Works/ (Dalzell Steel Works).

https://news.stv.tv/scotland/rennie-urges-uk-government-to-intervene-to-protect-133-jobs-at-dalzell-steel-mill and https://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/rennie-urges-government-to-intervene-to-protect-133-jobs-at-steel-mill-4733651 (August 2024 - Dalzell works risks closure).

https://culturenl.co.uk/museums/steeling-back-memories-ravenscraig/ (Ravenscraig steel works).

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POSTAGE:
* Postal costs are extra, additional to the Asking Price
* I always get a proof-of-posting certificate.
* I combine postal costs for multiple items when these are paid for and posted the same time.

RETURNS:
* Return accepted if the item(s) is returned in same condition it left me, then the full Agreed Asking Price will be refunded. Postal costs are not refundable.
* Buyer pays the return postal costs - unless agreed otherwise.

B.28