Grandfather's WW2 medals. Acquired from the MOD
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 13 ก.ย. 2024
- My Grandad, we called him Poppy, served in the RAF in the 1920s then again at the outbreak of WW2.
He initially was onboard the HMS Ark Royal at the start of the war, but quickly got posted to the far east and Africa. He rose steadily through the ranks to end the war as a Flight Sergeant.
I wondered what happened to any medals he might have had, but it turned out he was never given them.
The very helpful folk at the MOD helped identify which ones he was entitled to, and sent them to me, free of charge.
To see if any of your relations are also entitled, see their website:
www.gov.uk/app...
I shall be getting them professionally mounted and be proud to wear them on the right side of my chest at the next remembrance service.
So glad you were able to get those, they only tho they were doing their “bit”, like thousands of others and most were mindful of the ones that gave their lives in service… but it’s important for families to know the record.
Yup, I know now why he dragged me around the Fleet Air Arm museum as a 4 year old.
I went through the same process for my own grandfather as he never claimed them himself. It would be worth getting them 'court mounted' and then get a framed display to out them in so you can enjoy them on your wall. But make sure you ask them to make the medals removable so you can take them out and wear them on your right chest at Remembrance period. Worcestershire Medals will mount them for you and there are various people who specialise in making a display for them. I did a combined display for both my grandfathers, plus also got a separate one done for my own medals when i left the Army.
Cheers Tee, already in hand.
My father’s arrived in little glassine envelopes with the ribbon loose, not presentation cases. Interesting.
Glad you have them.
Cheers Clare. Did you get them mounted?
Very nice, thanks for sharing this!
Thats awesome!! My grandfather passed away new years day and he left me a pocket watch, it was my nanas(his wife) but she got it from her father when he died. He bought it back from the somme in 1916, he took it from a german but it is a british watch, so it was believed that the german had taken it from a british officer to start with......now i have it in my WW1 Collection!! 👍🏻👍🏻
I have my other grandads service medal from Malaysia in 1952.
I've got the same! My dad was in Malaya in 51÷52.
@@nostalgicplastic4323 thats pretty cool, mine served in the suffolk regiment 👍🏻
@@edsavage5526 Dad was West Kent Regiment
@@nostalgicplastic4323 i also have the original photo of my great grandad (who got the watch) on the wall, taken when he returned from the 1st world war, he has a 3 year good conduct stripe and a wounded stripe, he was hit in the hand by shrapnel, he was sent home to be in charge of the women making the ammunition as he could no longer hold a rifle.
I can't speak directly to the way that UK medals were handed out but I think this may help explain why he didn't have the actual medals. My father was a member of the USMC in the Pacific in WW2. He didn't have any actual medals like the ones your MOD sent to you. Usually medals weren't worn unless you were wearing a dress uniform. Back then (the WW2 period) unless you purchased a dress uniform you didn't get one. I suspect this is different today in the US military. A summer and winter uniform were issued however. Campaign ribbons and battle stars were the representation of the same decorations without the bigger medals. Having a wartime picture of your Grandfather in uniform (not what he wore while working as a member of the Ground Crew.) That might help too. You didn't have to wear either ribbons or medals. It could be a mixture of both. Your MOD people should be able to fill you in and on the "regulations" of how decorations should be worn. A uniform (like soldiers wore when off duty going out into a local town for R&R is what I'm referring to.) Campaign Ribbons and battles stars told the same story of where you served and if you were in actual combat, in a warzone where fighting was going on or not. Combat decorations, like in the case your VC, has it's own miniature ribbon and smaller pin for it. The same applies to a wound badge, a US Purple Heart, or whatever UK equivalent exists. Each battle (combat action) was represented by an actual little blackened brass star attached to the ribbon corresponding to where you served. I'm certainly no expert on all of this stuff and there may well be exceptions and some medals that aren't represented by campaign ribbons and battle stars. As a final point, as far US servicemen back then went, only one in twelve was actually in any combat at all.
I'm no expert either. Interesting subject though.
I'm not sure if my grandfather received his medals or if they have been stolen since he passed in 1975.
My grandmother lived in Glemsford and Lavenham in Suffolk after my grandfather passed in Bury St Edmund's but following his passing she was taken advantage of by unscrupulous removal men and the medals may have been stolen.
But I am inspired to try to obtain his medals as he served in Africa as a Royal Signals Dispatch Rider then in Europe as a Royal Engineer following D-Day.
Big question, are these replica medals or original? If they're original I had no idea that the UK government still issued medals after a former member of the forces is declared deceased. He in Australia, if you happen to misplace medals or they get stolen, unfortunately you can only get replacement replicas. The government no longer issues originals. My suggestion to you, is get some replicas made up and wear those and keep the originals in a safe place.
As he wasn't given them at the time, they're originals.
Can you please make a video once you have had them mounted.
Will do. I've sent them off, hopefully won't be long.