I wouldn't pay to much heed to Whyte's, I sold 2 oil on canvas paintings of 2 obscure English Lords with them a few years ago, their estimate was 80 to 150 Euro, the paintings sold for 11,800 Euro, when I queried the amount of commission they charged they said it was for their expert advice. I was reading through Western Militaria section and saw a question from a member requesting a copy of the 1916 Roll of Honour. Being new to the board I wasn't sure if I should reply because the message was nearly a year old and I wasn't sure how long a topic remains active. The member requesting the Roll was given the incorrect information that there was no Roll available. In 1966, when the 1916 commemoration medal was issued the National Museum of Ireland decided to put together a Roll of Honour of those who took part in the 1916 Rising. It took over 5 years to produce the Roll and when it was published there was much consternation and debate. The Museum applied the same criteria to be included on the Roll as was applied to be eligible to receive the 1916 medal. There were 2411 1916 medals issued, there are 1468 names on the Roll of Honour, a discrepancy of 943 medals. The Roll only includes the action that took place in Dublin so the discrepancy was put down to medals being awarded for actions that took place outside of Dublin. The Museum did examine the actions that took place in Galway, Cork and any other action that was alleged to have taken place during the qualifying period but they decided that the actions were either of no significance or there was insufficient evidence to prove the action took place at all. Another interesting point is that many who qualified for the medal refused to accept it. My own Grandfather fought in both the 1916 Rising (his name is on the Honour Roll) and in the War of Independence. My Grandfather firmly believed that medals should not be issued until the war was over; he also served time in prison in 1943 for assaulting a local dignitary for wearing a Truce Medal with Bar when my Grandfather knew that this dignitary had not taken part in any military action during the War of Independence and had been targeted by my Grandfather's IRA unit during the War because he was a know informer. Another topic of interest for those interested in the background to these medals is the Irish national and local newspapers, particularly the letters to the editor page. The newspapers of both 1942 and 1966 contain a raft of letters from veterans of 1916 and others complaining that 1916 medals were being awarded to people who spent Easter Week 1916 under the bed or down the local police station telling tales. The Roll has been published in various books, The 1916 Proclamation by John O'Connor, re-issued in 1999 and still available, contains the Roll. Wouldn't it be just awful to discover that the medal you had paid all that money for was awarded to someone who had done nothing during the Rising or even worse had actually been on the other side? Brendan