geoff

Thanks for the link Michael, I haven't had time to read it fully just yet, it's content looks really interesting and it's a site I have not seen before, again thanks for the input. If you don't already have them I can provide the names of those killed and wounded of the Queen's Own Rifles from the Battle of Ridgeway. Best regards Geoff

I presently own C.G.S.M. with bar for the Fenian Raid 1866 to 720 Pte Eugene Murphy of the 30th (Cambridgeshire) Regt, I have obtained medal roles for the regiment and it confirms his entitlement, I am asking if anyone can help with information/links, of movements, involvement of the 30th Regt along the Canadian frontier during the Regiments posting in Canada. Best regards Geoff

Hi again Mike, I have read all your posts again and notice that JAs as impressed on the medal rim, you quote his name as Jas, is this his official christian name or an assumption on your part? I have seen a number of victorian medal roles for the Crimea/Baltic conflict and I alway assumed Jas was short for James is Jas a shortened name for James? It's just an observation Best regards Geoff.

Fantastic Mike over 25 years of collecting and I have never had a re-unit it's great to hear of a success story, well done. Best regards Geoff

Hi Paul, in reply to your question I have a little story I would like to share. A number of years ago, about twenty, I was discussing militaria with some fellow collectors at work when one of our Instrument Mech's overheard the conversation, he approached and said he had a few items in his attic we might be interested in, he didn't expand and I'm not too sure he actually knew the historical interest of the items he was about to show us anyway, a few days later, true to his word the items appeared, imagine how gob smacked we were when the items he had all related to HMS Hood, apparently his wife's uncle was serving on the Hood on that fateful day, the first item was the normal photgraph of the ship's company infront of the gun turret with him clearly arrowed, the second was his group of medals, box of postage and condolence slip and lastly there was his bosuns whistle, try as we did we could not get him or her to part with them, he admitted they held no interest to them but they felt that they should remain in the family, sadly, they were returned to the attic , A number of years later, Jimmy, that's the Instrument Mech, approached us to ask if we had forgotten to give him back the bosun's whistle, obviously we had never had it in our possesion to retain it so we had to reply in the negative, it had been mislayed, after years with the other items it was now missing, Jimmy retired about eight years ago, you know, I still think about them medals in the attic, and my fellow collectors and I still talk about that day, don't know if he ever found the bosuns whistle If the above can happen with one guy imagine how many attics have stories to tell Best regards Geoff

That's brilliant, thanks for the information Adam, I didn't know what regiment he was in or when the CD was awarded, as I said WWII is not area I collect although I do have a couple of nice groups and bits and pieces I have picked up over the years, as you do I will update my database to include this new information, again many thanks. Best regards Geoff.

Hi Brian and thanks for the offer, I am genuinely touched by your concern for the groups repatriation and, the exceedingly generous offer you have suggested, I am afraid, after much deliberation 'about 2 seconds', I will have to turn it down, nice try Best regards Geoff.

Hi Laurence, congratulations on your winning bid, nice group cracking amount of paperwork, you don't often see all that for what I would say was a reasonable price for a WWII casualty. I like your repatriation theme, with his service records you should have a nice collective history of the guy, when you get it pulled together don't forget to share it with us. Best regards Geoff

Hi again, just thought I'd post this little group and own up to an underhand purchase : : A few years ago I was out shopping with the wife!!! the day was coming to a close and the local parking is adjacent a secondhand shop, so while the wife put the shopping in the car I took myself off for a mooch, as you do , this little group was there, displayed in one of those cabinets under lock and key, putting on my disinterested face I asked the assistant how much he wanted for the group of medals, he said ?45 GBP asked if he would take any less he said no, I couldn't talk him around; to be honest I wasn't particularly interested in the group not being an area of collecting for me, I was more concerned about him not wanting to accept a lower price, did he know something? this was when I decided on a little deception On the way home I explained to the wife what had happened in the shop and I talked her into a return visit the following week, if the medals were still there we would put our cunning little plan to work!!! Well we returned, I explained to the missus where the medals were and off she went, 10 minutes later we were back in the car with the medals, the plan; my wife approached the asistant and asked about the medals and asked what price they were, ?45 GBP the assistant replied, well, there not for me, replies the wife, they are for my father who is sick in hospital, he likes to collect little things from WWII to remind him of old times but I'm afraid his pension wouldn't run to paying out ?45 GBP, then the wife says, I suppose I could buy them for him but I can't really afford that price would you take ?35 GBP? I got them, that was about twelve years ago, they hold a place in my heart and in my collection and I still have my wife The group consists of 1939-1945 Star, France and Germany Star, 'Canadian' Defence and War Medal with EII Canadian Forces Decoration engraved S/SGT W.PRICHETT, I assume these were originally mounted in Canada, the mounting pin is stamped J.R.GAUNT MONTREAL the pin also has MADE IN ENGLAND, I suppose the pins would be made for export, any other theories? I know nothing about the group other than what I have mentioned here, there is always the possibilty that they are a D Day Group but, we may never know. Was I underhanded, I don't know but I enjoyed the game Sorry about the quality of the picture, they are full size medals. Best regards Geoff.

Thanks for that Ulsterman, I have been on this particular website a couple of times viewing only, are you suggesting asking for information from members of the site? Nice website of Prosper Keatings, I will remember this site when I pick up a para medal Best regards Geoff

Thanks for the info Eddie and sorry for the late reply, I am still looking and as soon as I get more information I will post it, again many thanks for the interest. Best regards Geoff

Hi Gordon, I have been mulling over your question for a few weeks now and seeing Michael's reply thought I would add a little more information, I am definitely no expert on the Anglo-Boer War but here goes. Criteria? difficult one, I would say/suggest that if a recipient did not meet any of the requirements for any the 26 bars/clasps issued, (extreme bad luck I would have thought!) then they would have received the medal without clasp. Medals without clasp went to the Royal Navy, as Michael states, also troops who guarded Boer prisoners on the island of St Helena, nurses, members of the St. John Ambulance Brigade and civilians whose work furthered the war efforts, though they took no part in the fighting. Through the little research I have carried out for the few Q.S.A. medals I possess, I have seen a number of Q.S.A. medals without bars to a number of regiments, one such medal belonging to a local guy of the Imperial Yeomanry who spent some eight months in South Africa, returned home seeing no action shortly after June 1902, research suggests a shortage of horses! One final suggestion from me, a lot of troops contracted/suffered from various diseases on their voyage to the Cape and were hospitilised upon arrival, quite a few of these guys were repatriated without seeing any action, I am presumming they did enough to be awarded the Q.S.A. without bar, (food for thought). I look forward to other feedback/suggestions, on this very interesting topic. Best regards Geoff

Hi Gordon, in answer to your question I would like to quote from [spink] British Battles & Medals: "Civilians played an important part in the campaign, and provision was made in the Command Paper for the medal to be granted to those who had served afloat or ashore while posted to, or attached to, or serving under the orders of units of HM Armed Forces. This ruling encompassed a wide range of recipients, the most numerous being men and women of the Merchant Navy and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary Service" I will jump a couple of paragarphs "It might be thought that this clause would apply to certain other civilians who took an active role in the campaign: Mr Richard Baker, Chief Secretary to the Falkland Islands Government, who risked his life to negotiate the surrender of Port Stanley on 2nd April; Mr Stephen Martin, the Magistrate of South Georgia, who attempted on 3rd April to deter the Argentine invasion while under fire; some of his British Antarctic Survey colleagues who maintained a hazardous coast watch during and after the invasion; Captain Stewart Lawrence and the crew of RRS Bransfield, which provided an important radio link in April; and certain Falkland Islanders who rendered valuable and hazardous service. Despite representations to the Foreign Secretary none of these people received the medal. The only concession was that it should be given to Governer Rex Hunt in his capacity as local Commander-in-Chief, and to the thirty-six men of the Falkland Islands Defence Force who reported for duty on the night of 1st April and who performed guard duties during the night of the invasion". So Gordon, from the above it would seem no other Falkland Islanders received the South Atlantic medal other than those mentioned above! Hope this helps All the best Geoff.

Hi Graham. thanks for the link, I have used the Gazette before in other research, have just tried it for this guy, got a number of hits, which I will follow up later, if successful I will comment on my findings in this topic. Interestingly, on your mention of the Falklands War and civilian medals, bigjarofwasps has just posted a query about Falkland Islanders (civilians) and if any were issued with the South Atlantic medal Best regards Geoff.

Hi Ulsterman, thanks for your reply and interesting suggestion, I suppose there is every chance he was a reporter I just wish I could obtain some information to prove it, you have to admit that the posting has created some debate and conjecture! all of it very interesting. Thanks for the input Geoff P.S. Anyone out there have a medal to 'Newspaper Reporter'

Hi Graham, thanks for your response. I have a couple of friends who have civilan First Gulf medals, ex RAF working out there when the Gulf war kicked off, they were seconded by the RAF until their safe evacuation could be carried out. With the items I listed I have received some interesting threads to follow, yours now include, interestingly though, I am still a little confused where to start with my research, Ed did provided good information about the coming rolls for Palestine, Kew isn't that accessible for me! as with a lot of collectors I rely heavily on the internet and clubs like the GMIC and its members for information. I am aware there were civilian medals issued but they are like the proverbial 'Rocky Horse S**t' to track down, anyway thanks again All the best Geoff.

Thanks Ed, and to all respondants, the replies have been fascinating, I like Ed's suggestions and will keep my ear to the ground for the issue of the "Palestine" clasp rolls, again many thanks for everybody's input. All the best Geoff.

Hi Michael and thanks for your suggestions. I have had quite a few comments away from G.M.I.C. but (behold the ultimate truth) nobody has ever seen one to a civilian! I wonder if this makes it a rarity ? anyway, thanks again and all the best. Geoff.

Thanks for the new thread! I hadn't considered your suggestions it opens up a few more doors knowing that Victorian medals usually showed the profession of the recipient i.e. Surgeon, not sure whether the trait was carried on into the 20th century or as you say "Mr" or as in this case"MR" as the new prefix for Surgeon. The mind boggles Many thanks Geoff

Thanks for the welcome Jacky, in answer to your question about the recpient, the medal details are "MNE1 C.A.FALCKE P039003B RM" Best regards Geoff

Hi again thought Id show off one of myyyyyyy medals, RM1 Royal Marine 42 Commando, verified to role, nice history to the company during the Falklands and South Georgia War, wish I could pin the recipient down to a particular action purchased this medal about 15 years ago, picture still not perfect but I'm getting there!

Hi all, first time posting for me so here goes. Picked up a WWII Group with miniatures a number of years ago in a Brixham antique/house clearance shop. The actual GVI GSM, with bars for PALESTINE and MALAYA, is named to a MR.J.R.HARRIS [The R of MR is superscript and underlined] and is accompanied by the 1939-45 and Africa Stars with Defence and War Medals, my question's are: does anybody out there own a civilian GSM of this period? I have asked at a number of militaria fairs but the dealers I have questioned couldn't help and had never seen one to a civilian, the naming on the GSM appears to be the correct style for the period. Is it possible to authenticate it's issue and if it is, how do I go about it? Just sorted the picture kb's thanks to the resizing article on the Software Upgrade & Computer Assitance forum.

Hi all, first time posting for me so here goes. Picked up a WWII Group with miniatures a number of years ago in a Brixham antique/house clearance shop. The actual GVI GSM, with bars for PALESTINE and MALAYA, is named to a MR.J.R.HARRIS [The R of MR is superscript and underlined] and is accompanied by the 1939-45 and Africa Stars with Defence and War Medals, my question's are: does anybody out there own a civilian GSM of this period? I have asked at a number of militaria fairs but the dealers I have questioned couldn't help and had never seen one to a civilian, the naming on the GSM appears to be the correct style for the period. Is it possible to authenticate it's issue and if it is, how do I go about it? Sorry unable to attach pictures at present they are all over 65K If anyone is interested I can email photo's if required.