Description
Physical description
medal and fitted case of issue
circular gold medal (65mm diameter). On the obverse the effigy of Alfred Nobel, facing left. Around the outer edge of the medal the inscription in Latin and with Roman numerals: 'ALFR.NOBEL. NAT-MDCCC XXXIII OB-MDCC XCVI', being the birth and death dates of Alfred Nobel. The reverse shows, in high relief, a group of three stylised classical nude male figures, posed in a circle with arms on each other's shoulders, the design intended to represent the forming of a 'fraternal bond'. The whole is surrounded by the Latin inscription: 'PRO . PACE . ET . FRATERNITATE . GENTIUM', which is translated as 'For the peace and brotherhood of men'. The inscription 'Prix Nobel de la Paix (Nobel Peace Prize)', and the relevant year of award, together with the name of the Laureate are engraved on the edge of the medal. The medal was designed by the Norwegian scupltor Gustav Vigeland. The dies were made by the Swedish sculptor and engraver Erik Lindberg. The Peace Prize medal is struck at the Norwegian Royal Mint. The medal is presented in a leather covered fitted case bearing, stamped in gold leaf, the inscription 'NOBELS FREDSPRIS 1933 SIR NORMAN ANGELL'. Awards were made in 24 carat gold.
Label
Sir Norman Angell, shown in this photograph, was an influential writer whose book Europe's Optical Illusion (1909) argued that war was futile due to the economic interdependence of all industrial countries.
In 1933 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize medal, accompanied by its scroll box. Angell had been one of the founders of the Union of Democratic Control in the First World War, a group opposed to military influence in government. He was also a critic of fascist states in the 1930s.
History note
The Nobel Prizes in Physics, Chemistry, Literature, Economics, and in Physiology and Medicine, are awarded by Sweden. The Prize for Peace is now awarded by Norway. (NB. Until 1905, Sweden and Norway were joined under the Swedish Crown). The winners of these prizes, selected by the relevant committees of the Nobel Foundation, are presented annually at two ceremonies, the one for the Peace Prize being held in Oslo. In addition to a monetary award, the recipient receives the Nobel Gold Medal and an Illuminated Scroll. Prize winners are referred to as 'Nobel Laureates'. Other British, or British-based, Nobel Prize winners include Sir William Cremer (1903); Sir Austen Chamberlain (1925); Viscount Cecil of Chelwood (1937); Friends' Service Council (1947) and Lord Boyd-Orr (1949). The the leading campaigners in the Northern Ireland Peace Movement were also recipients of the Peace Prize.
Sir Norman Angell ( Ralph Norman Angell-Lane) was born at Holbeach in 1872. He went to live in the USA in 1889 but in 1898 returned to Europe where he was based in Paris managing the French section of the Daily Mail. In later life Norman Angell rejected the notion that he was a pacifist in the generally understood sense of the word; rather, that his anti-war stance, expounded in The Great Illusion (1909), was based on a belief that such a war would be economically disadvantageous for victor and vanquished alike. With financial support from, anongst others, the Rowntree family, Angell established the Garton Foundation and in October 1913, he set up the journal War and Peace, whose contributors included Arthur Ponsonby, E D Morel and Ramsay MacDonald. In an attempt to keep Britain out of the war in Europe, Angell formed the Neutrality League and when this proved unsuccessful he joined with Morel, MacDonald and Charles Trevelyan to form the Union of Democratic Control. In 1920, Angell joined the Labour Party and later became an MP. He was a prolific writer and speaker and his book The Great Illusion :1933 contributed towards his nomination and the award of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1933. He was a Member of the Executive Committee of the League of Nations and of the National Peace Council. Angell died in Croydon in 1967.