Commemorative medal for the abandoned Coronation of King Edward VIII, Major General Harold Henry Blake, Royal Army Medical Corps, 1937

Circular medal with effigy of a crowned King Edward VIII with the inscription, 'H.M. King Edward VIII'; on the reverse, a coat of arms of the City of London, with scroll and inscription below, 'To Commemorate the Coronation of King Edward VIII at Westminster Abbey 12th May 1937'; with no ribbon.

Created to commemorate the planned Coronation of King Edward VIII in 1937. Edward VIII was King of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India from January to December in 1936 but chose to abdicate in order to marry the divorced, American Mrs Wallis Simpson. He signed an Instrument of Abdication on 10 December 1936 which was given legal effect the following day, when he ceased to be King. He was succeeded by his younger brother who became George VI. In 1937, Edward was created Duke of Windsor and married Wallis Simpson.

Harold Henry Blake was born in 1883. He initially served with the Northumberland Fusiliers until qualifying as a doctor in 1907. He was commissioned into the Royal Army Medical Corps as a Lieutenant in 1908. He served in World War One (1914-1918) and was Mentioned in Despatches twice before being awarded the OBE in 1919. He continued to serve across the globe and was appointed Deputy Director of Medical Services, Western Command during World War Two (1939-1945). After the War, Blake served as Superintendent of Stoke Mandeville Hospital and was part of the medical team who revolutionised the treatment of spinal injuries and established what would become the Paralympic Games.

From a medal group awarded to Major General Harold Henry Blake, Royal Army Medical Corps.