Medals - Where have they gone?

Post by **Pandabean** » Wed Dec 06, 2006 6:39 pm

Has anyone wondered what has happened to some medals that belonged to our ancestors and reltives who fought in WW1? I have always wondered my my Great Great Uncle's medals have went.

There may be even the possibility that they are no longer in the family and are in some private collection. I wish there was a way to find out.

I am lucky enough to have both my Great Grandfather's (WW1) and my Grandfather's (WW2) medals

apanderson · Post by **apanderson** » Wed Dec 06, 2006 8:41 pm

Hi Pandabean,

A wee bit 'off topic' but I've got a real bee in my bonnet!

I often wondered why there were so many 'Dead Man's Pennies' obviously missing from Family Gravestones. I though maybe the adhesive used to mount them was inadequate or perhaps they had just simply fallen off and had got lost. Well . . . . .

It seems they are appearing on e-bay.

I didn't take particular notes for each one I found to be missing so I don't know if any advertised belong to stones I've photographed but I'm thinking that one of those days when I'm stuck for something to do - I should list the missing ones.

I thought this was quite a common practice to have these medallions mounted on gravestones but it seems to be more a Scottish habit than a countrywide one??

Obviously these 'Pennies' up for grabs aren't all 'nicked' from gravestones, but I hope to goodness it doesn't become a trend (remember the Mercedes badges!)

Anne.

P.S. I forgot to say - it would appear that 'matching sets', i.e. brothers commands quite a price!

Post by **Pandabean** » Thu Dec 07, 2006 11:32 pm

Anne that is just horrible. How can people live with themselves after stealing medals from Gravestones. That is just wrong and sick. Those men went to war and died for what they were fighting for and believed in.

Obviously as you say not all are stolen, some may have fallen off and picked up later by someone. But it really gets to me that people can do that and get away with it.

JimM · Post by **JimM** » Tue Dec 19, 2006 10:42 am

The memorial plaques (dead man's pennies) were not intended to be placed on headstones. They were were cast in the years that followed WW1, and issued to the next of kin as a token of appreciation for the sacrifice made.

If you think of the thousands of servicemen who were buried abroad..... along with the many just "missing", it would not have been practical to put the plaques on the headstones.
Many of these plaques survive in pristine condition still inside their presentation envelope (I can imagine the widow keeping them safely tucked in the back of a drawer out of sight).

I suppose that as the years pass, the inheritors of these plaques no longer have the same sentimental attachment and they are frequently found up for sale.
Although I don't agree with the trade in these plaques... perhaps there could be some benefit. I believe that there are moves among the collectors to create an index of plaques in their collections, maybe some will eventually find their way home.

Jim

Post by **Pandabean** » Tue Dec 19, 2006 1:26 pm

I know what you mean about people not having the same sentimental value. I was watching one of those auction/boot-sale programmes a while ago and people were puuting up for sale some of the medals. In cases it wasn't just medals it was a photo of him, his diary, medals, etc. What if somewhere down that persons line a descendant wants to trace his family and finds out that the medals were sold off. I know I would be devestated.

As I said I am lucky enough to have both my great grandfather's and my grandfather's medals and I know I will never sell them.

I wish there was an easy way to track them down. I know that my great great uncle's medals may have gone to Manchester with his brother who survived the war. He was the informant on the death certificate. They may have gone to his sisters but with that the name gets lost as the marry etc, making it harder to trace.

JimM wrote: I suppose that as the years pass, the inheritors of these plaques no longer have the same sentimental attachment and they are frequently found up for sale.
Although I don't agree with the trade in these plaques... perhaps there could be some benefit. I believe that there are moves among the collectors to create an index of plaques in their collections, maybe some will eventually find their way home.

Jim

Post by **joette** » Tue Dec 19, 2006 1:56 pm

We have my Grandpa's WW1 medals he albeit badly disabled survived the War.(Dad'sDad)
Mum's Uncle Tommy didn't & as my wee brother was called Tommy my Grandpa-Mum's Dad gave them to her.I loved to look at them & the "Penny" was indeed still in it's envelope.Such a part of my childhood& I suppose also living close to Erskine Hospital & knowing that my Grandpa had been a patient & then an employee of it's workshop I was always aware of the sacrifices made by these young men &women(my Granny's young cousin was the first female to be killed when her "Ack,Ack Gun" was bombed by Germans-a story told by Granny which I have been unable to verify but there will a truth in it somewhere!)
I would sooner sell my arm than sell these precious memories.

I could understand if a family couldn't afford the insurance premiums if it were of great monetary value but most are of the sentimental type rather than the latter.
I know of someone who found his GGreat-Grandpa's medals on E-Bay-they had been stolen in a burglary.He paid a fair few bob to get them back but this was twenty years after they were stolen-if only they could talk!!