Medal Collection

arnhem44

Up this time are more BWM's to have arrived,first one is interesting and needs futher research,its named to a private in the Royal Warwickshire Regiment but this soldier can't be found in the National Archives,however a soldier with the same name and number can be found serving with the Queens and later with the Royal Dublin Fusiliers so this one needs to be looked into,anyone with suggestions are more than welcome!,next up one to the Liverpool Regiment,after that are three BWM's to Privates in the Royal Highlanders(the Famous Black Watch),the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders and one to the 16th Queens Regiment(Westminster Rifles)

arnhem44

last up today is an Indian Campaign medal with a Punjab Frontier Clasp for 1897/98 to a soldier in the 21st Punjab Infantry with correct script engraving

arnhem44

Here is another WW1 pair with some providance,these ones awarded to the very last Officer of the Royal Engineers to be taken Prisoner Of War in WW1,these come with lists of POW Officers of WW1`

arnhem44

Hi guys and gals?,First off a question,I've taken the medals out of there display with the intension of making a better one,just wondering if anyone knew what the best type of material to use for the medals to be attached to,I originally used a light type of felt however this tends to stretch under the weight of any larger grouping and also if anyone has anything in mind where could it be bought.Back to the medals,these three arrived over a week ago,a pairing to the East Lancs Regiment and a single to the West York Regiment,I have another nice pairing also which I'll put up in a few days

arnhem44

Ok then heres three more WW1 War and Victory medal pairings,the first one will be a pair to the Royal Naval Reserve,these come with copies of his service papers and the box the medals were issued in,a bit flat but all there,the medals are engraved with the letters DH and DA,one meaning Deck Hand and the other meaning Trawler Section

arnhem44

the second ones tonight are a pairing to the 15th Hussars,again these one come with there box of issue and also the postal envelope they were sent out in

arnhem44

the last ones up tonight are a pairing to the Northumberland Fusiliers,these ones were to a Private in the 4th Battalion,Northumberland been the second highest area behind London for recruting during the Great War,51 Battalions were created in this area alone

arnhem44

here is two more to arrive this week,one BWM to a private in the Royal Munster Fusiliers and another to a Private in the York and Lancs regiment

arnhem44

here is a BWM that arrived Friday to a private in the South Lancs Regiment,this medal reflects the price paid for it,13 euro's,the medal has had its name scratched,this been done most likely by the medal recipient trying to erase his name,the reason been people falling on hard times and selling there silver war medals after the war,that is one of the reasons why there is so many broken groups when you see a Victory and 1914-15 star come up for sale by themselves,the medal is still legible and this privates name and number been 49090 PTE G.JEFFERYS. S.LAN.R.

arnhem44

Just thought I might post this up,its a new site launched I think in Febuary called Findamedal.com,the site has been created for people searching for particular medals or medals from broken groups,its based on buying credits which enables a person to list up there wants list or search lists already posted up or medals they may want to sell,the site is linked to dealers around the world and I can only imagine the site to grow as it goes on.

arnhem44

here is the latest two to arrive,a BWM and Victory pair to a private in the Army Ordinance Corps

danpatjoe

Arnhem,
Your collection seems to be expanding at a fantastic rate!
Have you got a recent photograph of them all together?

I thought you might like to see my only War and Victory medal pairing - these are to Sapper William Imprey of the Royal Engineers. Complete with original (flattened) boxes and the remains of the original envelope they were posted in.

arnhem44

Hi Dan,cheers for posting them up,its so nice to see a group still with there boxes and postal envelopes,in lovely condition,have you ever looked up any details about him?.I've added two photos of the medals at present(not the best photos),I could of done better with these to be honest,I've broken them down to WW1 and WW2,I've left out some of the German Badges that are repo's,on top of this theres another 30 to 40 medals to display which I haven't got around to yet,I'll post them up once there done

Morlar

Very nice collection there - could I ask which is the ww2 medal immediately to the left of the Flak badge ?

Also is the Cholm shield de-nazified ? I have a photo album from the Cholm pocket that I must put online one of these days.

arnhem44

Hi Morlar,first off the Cholm shield has been de-nazified,its had a hole driven through it,the badge your talking about is a German motor sports badge sometimes called the NSKK sports badge,these were awarded in Iron,silver and gold,these were only given out in very small amounts,the one I have here is marked with an RZ maker mark with the number 14 above it,I think to indicate who recieved it,sadly as I've said in my last post I've taken out "some" of the repo's but not all and this is one of them,to save any more confusion the medals or badges I belive are fake are the coastal artillery badge,the narvik shield,the NSKK sports badge,Demjansk shield?,Krim shield? and lastly the air crew europe star.I'll be honest I stick to medals now unless I can see for sure if a badge is the real deal,the market is flooded with repo's and buying off the likes of ebay is always a risk and for that alone I gave up collecting them and turned my attention to WW1,most of those repo buys were spur of the moment buys that one might see on last minute auctions,silly I know but alot of us here are probarly guilty of it,I might get rid of the WW2 collection some day and concentrate purely on WW1

Morlar

arnhem44 wrote: »

Hi Morlar,first off the Cholm shield has been de-nazified,its had a hole driven through it,the badge your talking about is a German motor sports badge sometimes called the NSKK sports badge,these were awarded in Iron,silver and gold,these were only given out in very small amounts,the one I have here is marked with an RZ maker mark with the number 14 above it,I think to indicate who recieved it,sadly as I've said in my last post I've taken out "some" of the repo's but not all and this is one of them,to save any more confusion the medals or badges I belive are fake are the coastal artillery badge,the narvik shield,the NSKK sports badge,Demjansk shield?,Krim shield? and lastly the air crew europe star.I'll be honest I stick to medals now unless I can see for sure if a badge is the real deal,the market is flooded with repo's and buying off the likes of ebay is always a risk and for that alone I gave up collecting them and turned my attention to WW1,most of those repo buys were spur of the moment buys that one might see on last minute auctions,silly I know but alot of us here are probarly guilty of it,I might get rid of the WW2 collection some day and concentrate purely on WW1

Hi - I hadnt realised it was a repro to be honest. Still a de-nazified Cholm badge is worth having. In my view there is a big difference between a 'owner' de-nazified one and a 1957 re-issue.

I also have a Krim badge which I paid full whack for which I believe may be a fake - also bought on the spur of the moment so I know exactly what you are talking about there.

Both the WWI and WWII collections there are very impressive in my view.

arnhem44

Thanks Morlar,here is the Cholm Shield and NSKK Sports badge close up

Morlar

arnhem44 wrote: »

Thanks Morlar,here is the Cholm Shield and NSKK Sports badge close up

Thanks for that ! I think that 2nd one may be in a book I have at home now that I can see it in close up (The Littlejohn,David and Col.C.M.Dodkins. Orders,Decorations, Medals and Badges of the Third Reich (including the Free City of Danzig) Volume 1

I found an interesting article about the various campaign badges here :

http://www.wehrmacht-awards.com/campaign_awards/shields/campaign_shields_main.htm

Also one of the best (that I have found) sites on the Cholm encirclement which includes maps of positions etc (links on the left)

http://www.wehrmacht-awards.com/campaign_awards/shields/cholm.htm

arnhem44

Interesting links there Morlar,I liked the one on the campaign shields and there variants,I've seen all of these for sale over the past few years and some crazy prices been paid for the unverified awards,talking of crazy prices,I came across this on ebay the other day,its a world war one death plaque issued to the next of kin for a woman Elizabeth Beardsall,this been extremely rare as there was only around six hundred of these issued to women,the plaque made 3,350 sterling,a pic has been added.

arnhem44

Heres two more to arrive this past week,two more BWM's,one to a Bombardier in the Royal Artillery which has a heavy patina and the other to an Ordinary Seaman of the Royal Navy which comes with one page of service records

Hooch

arnhem44 wrote: »

Heres two more to arrive this past week,two more BWM's,one to a Bombardier in the Royal Artillery which has a heavy patina and the other to an Ordinary Seaman of the Royal Navy which comes with one page of service records

Hi guys.
I've been collecting medals, and well anything with a badge on it for about 6 years. I have quite a bit of stuff but I have never looked into the persons who own most of the English WW1 and WW2 medals. I am fortunate to have the history of all my Irish medals but I have no idea where to start with regard to getting information on my named English medals.
Any ideas or pointers??
thanks
NGA

arnhem44

Hi nice guy always,thanks for posting,first off go to this site,this will put you on the right track,its called the long long trail and the address is www.1914-1918.net ,its an invaluble source to anyone wanting to research a soldier.Next would be to check out the National Archives website,the address is www.nationalarchives.gov.uk ,here you will find the majority of records that exist,not all survived as over half were detroyed during the blitz,what survived are called the burnt series,there was more which also survived which were kept in the Ministry of Pensions for analysis at the time of the bombing,these are known as the unburnt series and not the pension records as they are mistakingly called,here you will be able to view all types of records however most are only viewable if you visit the national archives which is in Kew in London,you can also get some one to research for you for a fee and these people can be found online,the only records online are the bacic ones which can be downloaded for a small fee,one of these is the soldiers medal index card,this will show his medal entitlements and may show the theatre of war he served in and what year he went there and some show details such as being KIA or wounded,after this check the medal roll,these may show the dates and theatre of war the soldier served and with further research the soldiers regiment or unit can be traced to where he may of being and fought,also availible are medical reports,war diaries,discharge papers and pension records if he had any,also its worth noting that after 1920 the records have yet to be released.Next check the census records,these may show where he lived and what he may of done before he went to war.The London Gazette is also worth checking if you find out the soldier won any type of award as it will be noted in the Gazette,its a tedious search but if he got an award he's in there so bare with it.Next check the Commonwealth War Graves Commisson website,there address is www.cwgc.org ,here you will be able to find out if you soldier was a casualty,this site is free,if he was it will tell you where he is buried or commemorated and a print out can be obtained with a photo of the memorial or cemetry with the soldiers details underneath,in some cases the cwgc also have the soldiers details of his parents names and his address added to this also.Next you can try the International Committee of the Red Cross for details regarding Prisioners of War but don't expect to find to much,there address is www.icrc.org/eng/contact-archives ,also researchable is the Red Cross website they keep there own details of there own personell and that of the VAD,Voluntary Aid Detachment,there address is www.redcross.org.uk .Next check the war memorials website,memorials were not just in Britain but also in Ireland,soldiers who both survived and died are mentioned on these and can be found the lenght and breath of both countries,the Irish address is www.irishwarmemorials.ie and the British one is www.ukniwm.org.uk ,both of these are researchable.Next you can search British libraries for the absent voters lists,in 1918 there was a general election and anyone away at war was kept on record for not voteing,alot of these are online but you need to know where your soldier came from to check these.On a final note if your having difficulty finding details try the regiments headquaters as alot of these kept there own records in house and are available to the public for a small fee.If anyone has anything to add to this or if I've made a mistake please add to this.Below is an example of a medal with eleven pages of research,his medical records show that he suffered from kidney problems while he served.Hope this is of use to you.:)

Hooch

arnhem44 wrote: »

Hi nice guy always,thanks for posting,first off go to this site,this will put you on the right track,its called the long long trail and the address is www.1914-1918.net ,its an invaluble source to anyone wanting to research a soldier.Next would be to check out the National Archives website,the address is www.nationalarchives.gov.uk ,here you will find the majority of records that exist,not all survived as over half were detroyed during the blitz,what survived are called the burnt series,there was more which also survived which were kept in the Ministry of Pensions for analysis at the time of the bombing,these are known as the unburnt series and not the pension records as they are mistakingly called,here you will be able to view all types of records however most are only viewable if you visit the national archives which is in Kew in London,you can also get some one to research for you for a fee and these people can be found online,the only records online are the bacic ones which can be downloaded for a small fee,one of these is the soldiers medal index card,this will show his medal entitlements and may show the theatre of war he served in and what year he went there and some show details such as being KIA or wounded,after this check the medal roll,these may show the dates and theatre of war the soldier served and with further research the soldiers regiment or unit can be traced to where he may of being and fought,also availible are medical reports,war diaries,discharge papers and pension records if he had any,also its worth noting that after 1920 the records have yet to be released.Next check the census records,these may show where he lived and what he may of done before he went to war.The London Gazette is also worth checking if you find out the soldier won any type of award as it will be noted in the Gazette,its a tedious search but if he got an award he's in there so bare with it.Next check the Commonwealth War Graves Commisson website,there address is www.cwgc.org ,here you will be able to find out if you soldier was a casualty,this site is free,if he was it will tell you where he is buried or commemorated and a print out can be obtained with a photo of the memorial or cemetry with the soldiers details underneath,in some cases the cwgc also have the soldiers details of his parents names and his address added to this also.Next you can try the International Committee of the Red Cross for details regarding Prisioners of War but don't expect to find to much,there address is www.icrc.org/eng/contact-archives ,also researchable is the Red Cross website they keep there own details of there own personell and that of the VAD,Voluntary Aid Detachment,there address is www.redcross.org.uk .Next check the war memorials website,memorials were not just in Britain but also in Ireland,soldiers who both survived and died are mentioned on these and can be found the lenght and breath of both countries,the Irish address is www.irishwarmemorials.ie and the British one is www.ukniwm.org.uk ,both of these are researchable.Next you can search British libraries for the absent voters lists,in 1918 there was a general election and anyone away at war was kept on record for not voteing,alot of these are online but you need to know where your soldier came from to check these.On a final note if your having difficulty finding details try the regiments headquaters as alot of these kept there own records in house and are available to the public for a small fee.If anyone has anything to add to this or if I've made a mistake please add to this.Below is an example of a medal with eleven pages of research,his medical records show that he suffered from kidney problems while he served.Hope this is of use to you.:)

Wow...loads of info!!!! Thanks for the quick reply, this'll keep me busy in the next few months!!!!
Just see your in Cork. Living here with a few years, origionally kerry. Any idea of good antique shows for medals and other simular collectables?
Thanks again!!:D
NGA

arnhem44

Sorry,can't help on the fairs,there used to be a guy selling medals at the market in Bantry on Fridays but never made it out there myself,not sure if he's there anymore,sometimes medals come up at the local auctions but you have to keep your eyes open for these,a Black and Tan medal came up for sale at auction in Bandon on the 12th with an estimate of 450,I was in England while this was on so don't know if it sold

arnhem44

nice guy always wrote: »

Wow...loads of info!!!! Thanks for the quick reply, this'll keep me busy in the next few months!!!!
Just see your in Cork. Living here with a few years, origionally kerry. Any idea of good antique shows for medals and other simular collectables?
Thanks again!!:D
NGA

Just thought of these ones,I should of mentioned these earlier,Australia and Canada also had there own National archives and South Africa has there own War graves site,here are the addresses
www.southafricawargraves.org

www.naa.gov.au/collection/explore/defence/conflicts.aspx

www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/cef/index-e.html

www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/archivianet/020152_e.html

arnhem44

Right then back to medals,here are four more that arrived last week,four more BWM's,one to a private in the West Riding Regiment,one to a private in the 2nd Canadian Infantry,one to a private in the Labour Corps and the last one to a civilian in the Merchant Marine

arnhem44

Here are some Irish related WW1 BWMs that arrived during the week




naming

arnhem44

Next one to the Inniskillin Fusiliers





naming

arnhem44

Next one is a Victory medal to a Pte in the 8th bt 36th regiment




naming

arnhem44

Last one up is a casualty pairing to a Pte in the Royal Irish Regiment plus casaulty letter,postal envelope and London Co.Council medal named and dated 1906/07 named to his father I would imagine.




Co.Council Medal





Casaulty Letter and Envelope





Naming