Associate
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My father has our family ones up on the wall, pride of place and all that. Great war and Second World war, quite a selection there.
Had a nice surprise today
- Thread starter robfosters
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Associate
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Great find!
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Fantastic find, will look great when framed. And good luck in the search for your grandfathers ww2 medals.
Sadly my grandads sister died recently. They were very close and I was hoping that she may have had them amongst her stuff, but alas, nothing has been found.
Soldato
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The date is technically not wrong as the Treaty of Vesailles was not signed until 1919 which is technically the end of the war.
I did not know this but looked it up and I've now learned something.
They will look good framed and hung and are a fitting way to honour a brave man.
Was also thinking this when I saw 1919, that's the correct date.
Fantastic find, they look awesome, great condition as well, would love to have seen my Great Grandad's medals, no idea where they have ended up.
They are priceless. I have all my grandad's medals also.
He was captured by the Germans in France and sent to a concentration camp, he never spoke about it much but he told me that the Russian's who were also captured were treated really badly.
The allies bombed a German base near the camp, they were sent to clear up the mess, he found a watch which he managed to bring back to the UK and gave to me, it doesn't work, he did say the time on the watch is when the bomb hit the German HQ.
Stuck in time.
Here it is:
He was captured by the Germans in France and sent to a concentration camp, he never spoke about it much but he told me that the Russian's who were also captured were treated really badly.
The allies bombed a German base near the camp, they were sent to clear up the mess, he found a watch which he managed to bring back to the UK and gave to me, it doesn't work, he did say the time on the watch is when the bomb hit the German HQ.
Stuck in time.
Here it is:
To play devil's advocate, they might have felt that the medals are just symbols or tokens and don't actually hold any significance in themselves, and that it's what the medals actually represent that is important and should be remembered.
Not that I'd ever sell anything like that but I wouldn't say doing so would necessarily be showing disrespect for their relatives' sacrifices.
Sorry to hear that, hopefully theyll turn up sometime. A fella i work with had a great uncle who was awarded the vc for action on the somme, his medal is no longer in the posession of their family. Its currently kept at the royal ulster rifles museum in belfast.
Soldato
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Fantastic find.
My Nan died last year and I got a lot of WWII stuff including uniform badges from the Nazi officers that were occupying her house (well her parents house), ration books, newspapers during the war and even some fuel ration vouchers that weren't used.
Not as exciting as your collection but still I'm going to treasure them as I know she kept them for a reason and I was the only one in the family (and we have a big family) that wanted them.
My Nan died last year and I got a lot of WWII stuff including uniform badges from the Nazi officers that were occupying her house (well her parents house), ration books, newspapers during the war and even some fuel ration vouchers that weren't used.
Not as exciting as your collection but still I'm going to treasure them as I know she kept them for a reason and I was the only one in the family (and we have a big family) that wanted them.
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The items in this case are (assumably) the only piece the OP has left of his grandfather. That alone gives the items significance.
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Indeed.
Great find!
I have inherited my grandfather's OBE, and more importantly his CMG which is a rather rare one. I also have his service medals which are less important but still great to have. I'll never sell them either.
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So what did she do to get each of the medals?
Man of Honour
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I don't know about the OP but my grandfather's CMG (Cross of St Michael and St George) has been known to fetch around £5k if not more at auctions.
I reckon his will be rarer being WWI so at least the same if not more.
However, irrespective of cost, they are worth more to the OP than any other cost.
They were his grandfather's, not his grandmother's.
If that's the case, I agree that gives them greater significance but I still feel the real value of medals is what they stand for, and selling them wouldn't necessarily be disrespectful towards that.
As I said, I wouldn't sell anything like that myself but if I'd fought in a war and then a century later, my great grandchildren were having financial difficulties that could be solved by selling the medals, I'd like to think I'd encourage them to as their wellbeing would be more important to me. It depends on the circumstances imo.
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There is also what looks like a silver cuff link in the box with what can only be described as a sphinx on it. It looks like a trinket, but I know my great grandfather served in Galipoli. I know the Galipoli survivors were evacuated to Egypt, so was wondering if it has anything to do with that.
Did make me chuckle though, all the times in the last couple of years (and there were quite a few) That I was sitting on the bed watching a war documentary or something and wondering where my great grandads medals were, and all the time they were just a few feet above my head
Life is full of that isn't it? God knows what is only feet away from me when i'm at home!
Great find and you're doing the right thing. It's family legacy