Tony Farrell

That is a post-1971 award. It's the pre-republic issues I'm interested in, i.e. the ones with the sovereign's effigy on the obverse.

Feel free to use these if they're suitable.

I would be very interested to hear if any of our members have any of the below awards in their collection. These are post-independence pre-republic awards that existed between 1961-71. This request concerns the Commonwealth realm period only. Royal Sierra Leone Military Forces LS&GC Medal Sierra Leone Police LSM Sierra Leone Fire Brigades LSM

Broken service is perfectly admissible towards the LS&GC provided it is stated upon re-enlistment and is acknowledged to be of the required standard.

I concur: Scots Guards sweetheart brooch - and a rather nice one too.

This medal ceased to be current as of 31st July 2007 when Operation Banner terminated. As information.

It's a French-manufactured piece. Not a genuine MM, and not a copy in the modern sense per se, but rather a contemporary item. You sometimes find DCMs as well. This seems to be in very good condition. Incorrect ribbon though.

The RASC continued to use number prefixes long after they'd been superseded by the 'new' system in 1920. The RASC was a huge corps with many specialist branches which is why the prefixes were retained. S indicates Supply. The recipient would have been an SSM: Squadron Sergeant Major (WOII). Records are closed for this period, so research into the recipient's service history is void. The Military LS&GC, however, is a nice medal and its many overseas issues make for an interesting (and expensive) collecting theme.

It would seem his uniformed service terminated prior to the onset of WWII, whereupon he was actively involved in some Civil Defence capacity - either in India or the UK. The 1953 Coronation is almost inevitably for civil service in the UK, so he may well have returned to the UK either before, during, or after the war. A very nice group indeed and (I suspect) a bargain!

I think the patina looks quite attractive in this particular case. However, should you consider (professionally) repairing the cross and having a suspender attached, it might look a little out-of-place with fresh silver.

The incorrect ribboning of the BWM and VM was suprisingly common - along with the mounting of rosettes on 1914 Stars. This trio is fine.

The King's Medal for Service/Courage in the Cause of Freedom is a closed award. That said, it would have been far more suitable to re-open it and award it retrospectively than to create yet another commemorative trinket (that holds little [if any] kudos) and score some smartie points in the process. OBEs and MBEs would be unsuitable for posthumous conference for obvious reasons. The image of Winton and his Knight Bachelor's award has cause some confusion and is unrelated to the story.

Persevere. The CPM well may be around 'out there'. It'd make for a fine group. Interesting that he qualified for the CPM before the LS&GC (which one would have thought he'd qualified for in '46). Odd that he had to wait until 1954 to receive it - even taking in to account his wartime service in Italy. I would therefore assume (always dangerous) that he was temporarily released for service in the RAR. This would not have counted as broken service, rather a brief hiatus - much like the (retrospective) qualification criteria for the UK Police LS&GC during that period.

The rosette on the ACSM denotes thirty six months' accumulated service subsequent to the award of the medal proper. Quite likely to be a UDR/R Irish (HS) recipient.

Not being funny, but why is this in a British awards forum?

Anything other than a cursory examination is speculative. But the medal itself would denote an award any time between 1937/8 at the earliest (GV issues were still being used up until then) and 1948/9 at the latest (the IND IMP obverse stocks were still being used for a while after India's independence). Given the two bars denoting a total of thirty years' service, this would place the last bar's award at 1967/8 at the earliest, and 1978/9 at the very latest. Given that imperial awards pretty much ceased after UDI, I would go with the earlier date, as Rhodesia did not become become a republic fully until 1970 and some imperial awards continued to be awarded for a short period even after UDI (as far as I can ascertain).

As the suspension is of the swivelling type, the positioning of the mounting brooch is irrelevant. Victorian issues were generally awarded unnamed. However, many were 'regimentally' named (at unit expense) in either impressed or hand-engraved capitals - sometimes peculiar to locality (especially the Commonwealth awards), or privately engraved by the recipient after being awarded unnamed.

The last ribbon is for the Efficiency Decoration. The Territorial Force Efficiency Medal used a narrower ribbon and was an OR's award. It became defunct in 1921. This is an officer's group.

It depended on when the DCM was awarded, as early awards didn't always carry a gratuity or annuity. It also depended on to whom the award was made, i.e. which colonial or dominion force they were serving with. During WWII, the DCM carried a £20 gratuity upon discharge without pension or an increase of half that on a pension. Bars counted for double, i.e. DCM* = £40.

I understand that the contingency for the medal is well in place and it will be of the same design as the 2002 issue, albeit with a revised date and an un-plated finish. Those who qualify that already possess a 2002 medal will receive a stitch-on bar. That's the 'int' I have from a reliable source. Qualifying criteria will be broadly the same as the 2002 issue.

Yes... plenty. Service in Gibraltar, Malta, Abyssinia, Kenya, Sudan, Somaliland, Eritrea and Syria were non-qualifiers for a distinction. The rosette is the default design used (in the British system) to denote a distinction extra to many awards: gallantry, long service and campaign. The rosettes are relatively straightforward (to understand) when used to denote subsequent gallantry awards and extra service on LS&GCs. However, regarding campaign medals, the rot set in in 1914 and it's gone gradually more pear-shaped since. The use of numerals on the Africa Star ribbon was a one off as far as the British system is concerned, though it has been subsequently used on UN medals which are often found in British groups.

And as a comparison, a non-plated pre-1980 EII example. It's surprising how much crisp definition is swamped by the plating process.

The changeover to rhodium plating occured around 1980, as the quality of the cupro-nickel used was deemed unsatisfactory. Some cupro-nickel medals polish up surprisingly well and hold their shine for quite some time. Unfortunately, the Police (& Fire LSMs) didn't, so the plating option was decided upon. The pre-1995/6 issues were better quality than those subsequently struck by the Birmingham Mint between 1995/6-2007. The return of the contract to the Royal Mint, however, has (unfortunately) not seen a return to the old standard, and the medals look like cheap copies.

His medals are Egypt, East & West Africa, what appears to be an Army LS&GC (in the incorrect position), QSA, KSA and Khedive's Star. The E&W Africa is unusual for such a group as they were predominantly naval issues. His capbadge is that of SA Infy. He's most likely an ex-pat emigre who stayed on in the colonies after service in the Boer War.