Miltary Medals

[julia-mag]

Couple of day ago someone left a message on my answerphone saying they are assuming they had one of my husbands fathers 1914-18 war medals. He said he was trying to unite the medals with the families. He knew our names and our childrens names. What I wondered if anyone else has received this sort of call. How would he get hold of these medals? We have one of his fathers medals but have never lnown about this one. (its only one of the 2 pip and squeak medals). I wonder if he is trying to sell them. I don't want to call him back yet.

[Barmaid]

You should be able to do a search at the National Archives to ascertain what medals your father in law was awarded. His medal card should be publicly available. http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/

He may be trying to sell them. It may be a scam. On the other hand, he could be genuine. I recently did some research on the family of someone who had been awarded medals and a friend of mine picked up in a junk shop. He was hoping to let the family know. IN the event there were no close relations. This type of info is very very easy to dig up if you know where to look.

[vulcan42]

If these medals are genuine they will have the recipients name and service number either on the reverse or on the edge. There are three medals , pip, Squeak and Wilfred.

[vulcan42]

http://cdn3.volusion.com/npbzd.soapu/v/vspfiles/photos/2718-2.jpg

[Khandro]

I have my grandfather's WW1 medals and they don't have a name on them, just; 'The Great War for Civilization 1914-1919'. (strange it says 1919!).
So how would he know it was your husband's father's medal?

[vulcan42]

Khandro, that's the victory medal, your grandfather's name and number should be on the rim.

[vulcan42]

Similar to this
http://www.northeastmedals.co.uk/britishguide/ww1_victory_naming4.JPG

[julia-mag]

Yes Vulcan both my fathers and my father-in-laws victory medals have all the details printed around the rim, and this chap said that the one he holds (the silver one) has all the details (correctly) printed around the rim. I just wondered how the dickens he would have got hold of it. My mother-in-law was never aware of its existence as it would have been given to my husband.

[Khandro]

Vulcan; Quite right, I hadn't noticed that, thanks. That one is gold, with a standing angel, the other is silver with a male nude figure on horseback and under it's feet is a small skull and crossbones, the reverse is a bust of George V.
I now see he was a corporal, Manchester Reg.

[vulcan42]

julia-mag, curious, that he has only one, if medals are sold it's usually as a set of three. All I can think of is over the years this one has been lost and found again. He can't really sell it as it obviously isn't his, unless he's a distant relative and it came into his possession that way , hopefully he just wants to reunite it with the rightful owners.

[julia-mag]

I will let you know when I have resolved this. No he is no distant relative, (we know all of them) as we have an almost complete geneology going back for many generations, right back to when the vikings arrived in Norfolk! Thank you everyone for your help on this matter.

[Peter Pedant]

Khandro
Manchester Reg museum is in Ashton under Lyne

worth a visit - they will have all sorts of records.

[ I personally didnt find them much help as they had put a child's tourist jellabiah in the Boer War collection and didnt seem to know or be interested ( perhaps because they were busy ) that a flag embroidered in Arabic could not be a Boer vierkleur. omdurman 1895 instead I thought ]

[Obiter]

It says 1919 because the war did not officially end until 1919 with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles.

[stuey]

I think that the main reason that some medals say "1919" is that some of the "Allied" troops continued to fight in Russia on the side of the White Russians, if that is the correct term.

[Khandro]

Thanks Peter; For the record, and considering the commemorations on now, granddad really deserved another medal as well for his life after the war. In battle he was hit in the thigh by a sniper's bullet - (all that a highly inquisitive child got out of him on the subject) - leg amputated in a field hospital (gawd!) Artificial leg and stick, courtesy of a charity called BLESMA (British limbless ex-service man's association). Worked all the rest of his life as a gate-keeper at 'Metro Vicks' Trafford Park until the 1960's, never lost a day, locally 'famous' as the first person out in the street in all weathers at 5:30am after a pint of tea in a huge white mug with milk and rum "Sergeant-major's tea", 1/4 mile walk and two long bus journeys across Manchester. Never complained about anything, and boy could he whistle!
All this brought back by opening the box for this thread, tears in my eyes, but thanks.