Where and when????

[Nicos]

I have my grandfather's 3 medals from WW1

A Welsh Regiment ( reg no 33167)
The Defence medal
And a silver one with a naked man riding bareback on a horse ove what looks like a skull and crossbones and a shield.

Did everyone get the latter two?

He was Acting Colour Serjeant called THOMAS TOLLIDAY and I found his records on the Archives.

My main question is ...is there anyway of finding out where he was and when??

According to the Family Bible, he 'proceeded to France on Active Service July 6th 1915 . 19th October 1915 he left France for Salonica on the Shropshire and returned to England 4th ( or could be 7th) September 1918 on HMS Arizona'

He apparently was at Ypres and the Somme but who knows?

Can I track the postings of the Welsh Regiment- where would I be able to find out??
We have just bought a house in Normandy and the area is steeped in WW1 and WW2 history. It's made me concerned now for what he went through - for obvious reasons he would never discuss what he went through and if I could at least find out which battles he was in I'd have more of an understanding

Thankyou for any pointers!:)

Ooops - should this be in the WW1 section????

[peter nicholl]

Hi Nicos
The Silver Medal is The Victory Medal.
Peter

[Jfremont]

Although my grandfather was in the Canadian Army his Victory Medal is bronze and bears the winged figure of Victory and the reverse has the inscription "The Great War for Civilization". His silver medal which is as descibed by Nicos, is the British War Medal. I thought the medals were the same for Britain and the Commonwealth. Am I wrong?
John

[Geoffers]

Can I track the postings of the Welsh Regiment- where would I be able to find out??

Your could try the Regiments (http://www.regiments.org/nations/index.htm) web-site

Check to see if an war diaries are available on Documentsonline (http://www.regiments.org/nations/index.htm)

Try the National Archives to see if his is one of the surviving service records - The burnt records are slowly being put online see this news (http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/news/stories/166.htm) item from TNA

[Geoffers]

I thought the medals were the same for Britain and the Commonwealth.

TNA's web-site shoes the medals awarded here (http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/medals.asp)
Do they look like the medals that you have?

[peter nicholl]

Although my grandfather was in the Canadian Army his Victory Medal is bronze and bears the winged figure of Victory and the reverse has the inscription "The Great War for Civilization". His silver medal which is as descibed by Nicos, is the British War Medal. I thought the medals were the same for Britain and the Commonwealth. Am I wrong?
John
Hi John
You're absolutely right and I stand corrected.....Good job one of us is on the ball |blush|
Peter

[Nicos]

Thankyou all!

Will now be able to set-to again!!!;)

It's great having support like this...just when you feel a bit lost , someone winds up the enthusiasm again!

http://bestsmileys.com/waving/1.gif

[Jfremont]

Yes my grandfather's medals are exactly as shown on TNA's site.

John

[Jfremont]

Hello Peter,

Sorry. I quickly posted before I saw your post.

John

[Tocky]

I feel strongly about military medals staying in the possession of the original recipient...or their family That said I recently rescued a Victory Medal from Ebay and need help in returning it to its rightful owners. I am keeping his number and full first name as a check to ensure the medal goes home, where it belongs.

The name inscribed in Pte N Brown Liverpool Reg. If the medal is not claimed within a month I will give it to the Kings Regiment museum. Any family whose relative served in the first war and is named N Brown and was (and since lost) a Victory Medal please let me know through this site.
Tocky

[neil1821]

Hi Tocky,
This is just a neutral comment really, I'm not necessarily agreeing or disagreeing that medals should stay in the possession of the original recipients or their families.

The fact though that so many medals are available to buy and sell on Ebay and dozens of other places is that originally they were sold by those same recipients or their families. This happens both with historical medals (eg those from ww1 discussed above) and very recent medals (eg Gulf War medals). Serving soldiers are not allowed to sell their medals, but as soon as they leave the army they're perfectly able to do so.

The fact is a lot of families just aren't interested in keeping them.
An example that I experienced recently. I was helping out with a house clearance and we came across some Korean War medals at the back of a cupboard (so 1950s, fairly recent). The lady explained that they originally belonged to her brother (or maybe brother-in-law, I can't quite remember). Anyway, she was adamant she didn't want them and that I should chuck them in the bin!!! In the end she let me sell them for her, which I was happy to do. I would rather they ended up with a collector who looked after them than thrown in the bin by the family.

It's sad most certainly, but not everyone considers them items worth holding on to.
Presumably the medal you have to Pte N.Brown was originally sold by the family?

I wish you luck in your search.

[Tocky]

I take your point Neil. There are other factors involving medals becoming seperated from their owners eg theft and just general misplacement.
An example some years ago I was approached by a lady who told me that her old dad was comming up to his eighteth birthday and as a surprise they wanted to replace his medals which had been stolen some years before in a house break-in. We did the business and got replacement medals and not only that but the Co from his old regiment, the Black Watch attended the party and presented the medals. There is another sad factor and that is ex service men sell their medals for cash because they are often in dire straights. Whatever happens in this case the medal will have a good home...his regimental museum or his family. 5 Million Victory Medals were issued to British soldiers alone so there is no commercial value to them as such...I bought this one for buttons. But because N Brown belonged to the same regiment my late son belonged to it touched me and so I am hoping to repatriate it on emotional grounds.
Tocky

[nancyt]

Hi Tocky,
I've just joined today and trawling through saw your post I totaly agree the medals belong with the recipients family. unfortunatly I have never seen My uncles WW1 M.M. or any others he may have had, shamefully they were disposed of many moons ago. I've always hoped they may turn up someday, thanks to someone like yourself.
nancyt