Gilbert Betjemann Prize Explained

The Gilbert Betjemann Prize (originally the Gilbert R. Betjemann Prize, also referred to as the Gilbert Betjemann Medal) is a gold medal awarded by the Royal Academy of Music (RA) "for operatic singing".^{[1] [2]}

The award was founded in 1897 by G.H. Betjemann HonRA, to commemorate his son Gilbert Richard Betjemann, who was an associate and former student of the Academy^[3] and who had died following the collapse of a snow bridge over which he was walking near Grindelwald in the Bernese Alps on 9 September 1896.^[4]

In 1948 it was described as:^[5]

In 2013, the great-nephew of the 1909 recipient, Margaret Ismay, showed her medal on an episode of the BBC's Antiques Roadshow. She had had it converted into a coin watch by Cartier.

The Gilbert Betjemann Memorial Prize is a registered charity in England and Wales with number 310007.^[6]

Recipients

The first 49 recipients are listed on a wooden prize board, with gold lettering, in the collection of the Academy. They were:

Notes and References

1. Stowe House 1 . Antiques Roadshow . Antiques Roadshow . 2013-03-19 . . 2013-02-22 . 35 . 13 .
2. Web site: 18 December 2023 . Prize board, Gilbert Betjemann Prize, Royal Academy of Music, 1897-47 (Board 1/2) . collections.ram.ac.uk.
3. Web site: Prize board, Gilbert Betjemann Prize, Royal Academy of Music, 1897–47 (Board 1/2)" . 19 March 2013 . Royal Academy of Music.
4. Musical Times, 1 October 1896.
5. Royal Academy of Music prize book, 1948
6. Web site: Gilbert Betjemann Memorial Prize.