peter monahan

Dave Sorry no one got back to you! The Imperial war Museum has records, including medal entitlements for most WWI British servicemen. The medal 'rolls' give unit and dates served and might narrow down 'RE' a bit. Also, the London Gazette should have the citation for the MM, though I suspect it will just be a name in a long list, but at least you'll have an award date. The LG is available on line but the search engine is notoriously cranky, so if you don't get lucky at first, try and try again. Hope this helps! Good luck with the hunt. Peter

QSA Mike is right: definitely not British or Imperial [Oz, SA, Canada]. I would ave said German/Central Powers but if tose pundits say no, try Russia, Turkey, eastern Europe rather than France, Belgium, etc. Peter

Veeery Interesting!

Issued top Ivo W Reddy, who was a Catholic [RC]. No unit identifiers or ranks used after 1918 by the British or Commonwealth armies. At least, not by WWII for sure. Sorry!

Not a rare association, in fact: war - death - skulls. Too bad the SS gave it a bad rep! It does look so cool in silver on black - like the 17th, I mean.

As the French would say... "Sacre WOW!". Very impressive display indeed.

Megan The medal you describe is discussed and illustrated by Antonio here: http://gmic.co.uk/index.php/topic/38370-nigeria-police-cross/#entry356540, under "Police Medals and Collectables of the World". Any explanation for the apparent difference? Early and later issue? Two different medals? Prototype and production?

Very interesting! Any idea why the colours were reversed?

Thank you, Turtle. I had located the Wiki entry on the QGM but no citations. Peter

Jock Yes, nobody pays a lot of attention to the poor sod who pulled the trigger. Thank God none of my life's significant [bad?] decisions had consequences like that. I literally don't know how I'd live with it. A double tragedy, as you say. Chris I can't claim any real personal experience with street vets, though I have several friends who do outreach and do meet them. And, I'm a great advocate of fiscal responsibility. I even practice it myself at times! I also spent 33 years trying to explain to high school students that in the real world [ie. after graduation] "Your mother doesn't work here!" and nobody gives a tinker's cuss about your self esteem. And some of the street people fall into that category. OTOH, a few weeks on the street is probably a great incentive for those WHO CAN to pull up their socks! It's no fun out there! Having said all that, and acknowledging that a few of the street people I have come across are Class A con artists, very few street folk are faking it to get the benefits. Partly because the benefits are so hard to get and so s**tty when you do and partly because if they had their act together they'd not be on the street anyway. Mental illness, by definition, reduces one's capacity to deal with the world. Think 'crappiest day of my life, ever',add it together with 'most annoying bureaucrat I've dealt with, ever', and multiply by ten. That's a mentally ill person trying to navigate the social services maze! I'm pretty smart, way over educated and with incredibly supportive family and colleagues and even with all that plus pretty good drugs, I only just made it through some episodes of severe depression without being hospitalized. So, yeah, the Walter Mitty's are out there. These guys aren't them, IMHO!

Kerry I knew some of the Gentlemen would know! Sounds like a nice pair, BTW, with more than just the "I was there" bars on the QSA. Good luck with your National Archives search too. Please do let us know what you find. Peter

"He says I'm a lost cause. ;)" Imagine my surprise! Nice book plate, though. P.

Kerry I have taken the liberty of moving this post to the correct forum. I'm sure some of our expert members will have ideas on how to track down Sgt. Roberts. Peter Monahan, Moderator

Ilja Thank you for the post. Do any of the members have information on the award criteria? Peter

Sadly, Mervyn, our authorities have done, IMHO, shamefully little to help vets deal with mental health issues. Many serving soldiers are afraid or reluctant to speak out, as in the macho culture of the military, 'Just suck it up.' is an all too common response. Our politicians, penny pinchers to a man, are little better, though some belated efforts are being made, mostly as a result of public outrage over cases like this one. A huge number of our homeless are veterans of the armed forces, a fact reflected in US figures too and, I suspect, in many other nations. I have referred in other threads to the recent shooting of a mentally disturbed youth by police, an all too common tragedy. Again, lack of training is part of the problem, lack of money for mental health services another part and, sadly, 'police culture' and adrenaline a third part. "A man runs at me with a knife. I have a gun..." Tragic but not inexplicable. R.I.P. the Unknown Fallen.

Mike has, I think, the best potential answer: the International Red Cross. Now if only their records are indexed and available on-line. Shouldn't be that hard to find out.

Robin I think you've nailed it. But I'm beginning to detect a pattern here! What does your therapist say about this new interest?

I could look it up but... Anyone know when the MC began to be awarded to ORs and NCOs? I assume the MM is no longer awarded. It would also be interesting to know under what circumstances the Queen's Gallantry Medal was awarded. Perhaps for acts while not under enemy fire? I'm not familiar with the award criteria, except that it is referred to as a 'civil award'.

No nibbles, Gordon? I'd say the style is European, not Commonwealth, so if it's older would tend to France or one of the Germanies, but if its newer - and the graphic suggests it is, that only means a European maker, so could be anywhere! Obviously medical and the colours, barring the central blue, are red/white/green, so perhaps Italian? The letters - mangled to fit round the caduceus - look like 'R W G V' to me, but that rings no bells. Maybe one of the Italian members/experts could shed some light. Possibly a medical volunteer/first aid group? Also wondering whether the blue with a circle of asterisks is meant to echo the EU gold stars on blue. Some random musings. Sorry its not more. Peter

I agree, Brian. This is a fascinating little bit of Indian history!

Coming back to that must be absolutely, mind-blowingly depressing! Acres and acres of water borne crap to shovel away, so you find your life's prized possessions and put them in a garbage bag. I think more and more as I watch see these scenes in the news that were I evacuating ahead of fire or flood, s**w the jewellery and electronics, I'd save the photo albums and favourite outfit, 'cause when the crews go home that might well be all that would be left. Where would you even begin to start the rebuild? Kudos and medals to the relief teams for sure, but probably deserved by some of the quiet survivors who just went back in and got on with their lives!

Looks like a friend of mine after a hard night at the pub! I'm going to stick my neck out and say 'not British', but that hardly narrows it down. Besides the 17th, the Leib Hussaren regiments and the SS, how many other groups wore skulls? Pirates, WWI assault troops, various 'elite' commando types, Serbian militia [yech!] and ... Peter

Odulf While I know little about British swords, I know NOTHING about Dutch swords! So.. could very well be his Dutch Honour Sword. Either way, lovely portrait and a rare honour for Admiral Van Capellen. Peter

"They were commanded by a Squadron Leader John Eric James "Jackie" Sing, DFC and, apparently, flew "Rhubarbs" Not Raspberries, John? Seriously, had to go look that one up! [low level strike sorties, right?]

Heusy Thanks for the excellent pictures and good detailed descriptions of the medals! Well done. I have looked at some photos of the NPS, including some of senior officers on parade and none of them seem to be wearing any medals or ribbons. Instead some have pins, circular and gold or shiled shaped and enamelled over their left pockets, where I would expect to see medals worn. Pperhaps some kind of commendation? Peter PS NPS has a Facebook page - go there to see the photos I mean.