WW1 Medal Records - under threat of being destroyed?

[Ann.McClean]

Has anyone else heard/read about this?

Apparently, in April the MOD intends to destroy some 6 million records of medals issued to WW1 personnel.

The private facility used by the MOD to hold the records at
Hayes wants to relocate and charge the MOD for moving the cards. The
MOD's response is to get rid of the 140 filing cabinets that contain the
4-6 cards. The National Archives doesn't want to take on the cards
because it has already microfiched them and the microfiche has been
digitally scanned.

Only the fronts of the cards have been scanned and it is believed that written on the back of many of these cards is the address
that the medals were sent to. Often, it isn't possible to determine
whether the record of the medals issued relates to your ancestor or
another person without checking this address.

If the National Archives won't step in, perhaps someone else will. The Imperial War Museum? The Veteran's Association?

The MOD claims its holds copyright on the cards and that it can do what
it wishes with them.

Your Family Tree magazine has instituted a campaign (trust it is OK to post the details ?) to urge the Minister of Defence, Geoff Hoon, and the Director of the National Archives, Sarah Tyacke, to prevent the destruction of these records straight away.
Address your letter as below & it will be passed it on to these authorities:

Rt Hon Geoff Hoon & Sarah Tyacke
Save the Medal Index Cards
c/o Your Family Tree
30 Monmouth Street
Bath BA1 2BW

Alternatively, send an email headed 'Save the Medal Index Cards' to
<[email protected]>. Do it now - the records are due to be
destroyed in April.

Having just received my PALMER grandfather's WW1 Service Record, along with details of his medals from these Medal Cards, and am saving up to get my CAWTHORN grandfather's Service record as well, I am horrified at these proposals.

[Mandie]

There's a thread elsewhere: http://www.british-genealogy.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4833 discussing this. It looks as though there is a group trying to save them.

:)

[Ann.McClean]

I receivedthe above details via the Rootweb Kent, Warwick & Cheshire lists;
but am contacting Your Family Tree magazine to see if all is gratis, as according to the other thread, this could be an April Fools !

[Barbara Wilkinson]

This has been widely reported in the Daily Express this week - people were getting very hot under the collar there, and it generated lots of letters.

[Steve]

The Western Front Association is negotiating with MOD to take on the
responsibility and storage of the WW1 Medal Cards.

[busyglen]

In the Rootsweb Review, dated 27th April,Vol 8, No: 17 there was the following paragraph:

"The MoD has now received offers to adopt the cards. A key offer has come
from the Western Front Association (WFA), a WWI-focused charity. The WFA
has funds to move and store the records for a year while it seeks a
suitable public location for them. It is in the process of applying to
adopt the majority of the cards and has the support of the National
Archives in this move. The Imperial War Museum has agreed to take on the
records of women who served."

It also stated that the plan to destroy the cards had now been put on hold due to the large amount of emails etc. that had been received.

Glenys

[Pamela Hall]

Good news about these. I recently got my grandfathers medal roll and what's more one of his medals was found in the garden where he used to live and was returned to me.

It now sits in pride of place on my desk where I can look at it everyday and marvel that it was found all these years later. Lucky or what?:)

Pam
Stoke on Trent