War Medals - Assistance Required Please.

snoop69

snoop69

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Paul
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My father has left me his fathers medals.

I have no use for them & do not wish to keep them.

I have no info other than, my grandfather died aged 86yrs in Nov 09.

Anybody here able to give me any information in order for me to list them
correctly on fleabay etc?

19022010034.jpg
 
This website looks like it should help you out in terms of identifying the medals.
http://www.medalsuk.co.uk/

the second from the left looks to be this one:
http://www.medalsuk.co.uk/ww2/3945star.html

1939 - 1945 Star
This star was awarded for service between 3 September 1939 - 2 September 1945.
To qualify for this medal, members of the Royal Navy had to complete 6 months service in areas of active operations.

For the Army, they had to have served 6 months in an operational command. If they were airborne troops, they could qualify by participating in an airborne operation, and had completed 2 months in a fully operational unit.



EDIT:
Third looks to be http://www.medalsuk.co.uk/ww2/fandg.html
Fourth looks to be http://www.medalsuk.co.uk/ww2/defmedal.html
 
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Andrew, thank you very much.

Those links are a great starting point :thumbs:
 
struggling with the others though :lol:
 
I think number 1 must be one of these

http://www.medalsuk.co.uk/campaign/gsm18/gsm18.html

The colour in the photo looks very pale where yours looks very blue. but some of the other links on that page show them in a much deeper colour. (I suppose the one in the photo on the link could be quite faded). The text on the clasp is not obvious from your photo but is likely to relate to one of the conflicts listed on the page, from there you should be able to Google search "UK Campaign Medal <TEXT FROM CLASP>" or "General Service Medal <TEXT FROM CLASP>" and get some information hopefully.

Good luck.
 
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They are all standard medals, issued to most servicemen in the war so not rare of valuable. Andrew is incorrect as No.1 has the King from WW2 (George?) think it is a general service medal. I used to be into this around 20 years ago. 4 is defence medal and 5 is war medal, given to everyone I think. There is the war medal and 1939-45 star on ebay for £9 for the pair with 2hrs to go. There is also a group of 6 medals there for £100 with an hour to go - 1939-1945 Star, Atlantic Star with France and Germany bar, Italy star,Pacific Star, 1939-1945 War medal plus a Dutch one. Would guess 2,3,4 & 5 to be £20 - £25 for all 4, maybe £30 if lucky. No.1 depends on whats on the bar (i.e. Korea, Palestine, Cyprus etc...) and could be £20-£50.
 
cambsno said:
No.1 depends on whats on the bar (i.e. Korea, Palestine, Cyprus etc...) and could be £20-£50.
Click to expand...

Wow, many many thanks guys.

#1 says 'Palestine' on the bar.
 
Well that's a dreadful shame - why would you want to sell those?
They should be mounted in a frame with a small photograph of the man...and hanging on your wall...
 
Arkady said:
Well that's a dreadful shame - why would you want to sell those?
They should be mounted in a frame with a small photograph of the man...and hanging on your wall...
Click to expand...

I agree.
 
I didn't want to be the first to post it but I find it very sad you wouldn't want to keep your grandfathers war medals in the family and are happy to sell them for what amounts to beer money.
 
Arkady said:
Well that's a dreadful shame - why would you want to sell those?
They should be mounted in a frame with a small photograph of the man...and hanging on your wall...
Click to expand...

I have to agree with this,

These are simple bits of ribbion with hanging metal on them that people will buy for as little as possible, but the amount of work and self sacrifice that goes into earning these no amount of money can compare. Most are engraved with their name which will mean nothing to the buyer.

Keep them in the family.
 
I wasnt going to say anything either as its the OPs perogative to sell or keep but I am 100% with Rob, Mike and Darren and Aaron, they should be mounted in a frame for future generations to see
 
I hear what you are saying guys but it was my fathers wishes to pass them
on & bank the money for his grandchildren.

I think I will pass on selling, put them away & put some
cash in the bank meself :bonk:

Cant believe I didnt think of this in the first place but to be honest, ive been
making some terrible decisions since he passed away :'(
 
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Paul,

I think that you should consider yourself as the custodian of these medals and not the owner of them. If you don't want that responsibility then his old regiment probably will.

Bob
 
My Granddad was a machine gunner in the 1914-18 war,he was overrun by the Germans who where in the habit of bayoneting anything that moved,so he buried himself under dead comrades.

He died of stomach cancer brought on by mustard gas (thats what I think ,not diagnosis) He had a sh#tload of medals that He was rightly proud of.

I always wanted just one of those medals but they all went to my uncle (his son) who promptly sold them.

Now I don't know if you have children,but please ask them if they want them,or just keep hold of them till they are old enough .

I was SO SO pi##ed off with my uncle I never spoke to him again.

I'm a slow typer so got this up after you're post above...........Good shout m8
 
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Good call Paul. It's far too easy to value money above heritage.
 
Good stuff Paul they arent worth a great deal in money......but that bloke went through hell and back to earn them so its really as Rick says
 
With the exception of the GSM with the Palestine bar, you have an absolutely standard set of WWII campaign medals. Monetarily, they aren't really even worth selling (even the GSM is only around £20 as already said) - there isn't a medal collector out there who couldn't get a set of these for a few pounds. However, yours belonged to your grandfather - they're pieces of family history, and once gone will never be replaced. The £20 or so you'd get for the rest of the set will be spent in the blink of an eye.

They represent a tremendous personal sacrifice and hardship, and I think it's an awful shame to get rid of them for the pittance you'd receive in return. My grandfather left me exactly the same medals (inc France & Germany Star) without the GSM, and I wouldn't part with them for all the world.
 
My father died on Tuesday (this week), he was 88.
It's been such a long time since I've cried I didn't think I could do it anymore....I was wrong.
He has a little cardboard box with his name and no. on it,
inside are his medals.
I used to beg to him to let me look at them when I was a kid....he was a quiet, unassuming man and although he used to tell me about all the people he met and made friends with, and all the places he had seen, he never really talked about what he did.

One of his medals is the Burma Star.
Every year (until very recently) he'd wear all of his medals on parade and think about the men who were not so fortunate.

Please keep those medals.
 
I have just been reading all these posts and i have to agree with the point of view that you are just the custodian of these medals. if you sell them then all your grandfather went through is all for nothing.
Why don't keep them and wear them in memory of your grandfather and others who served at the cenotaph in your home town and let people know you CARE.
 
Good idea to keep them and put £50 in the bank instead, mate - every November 11th, maybe give the kids £10 each to bank as well for thier own future...that way you honour his memory, serve his wishes and teach your youngsters what it's all about, while retaining some priceless (to you) family history...

Once it's gone, it's gone forever...
 
I would keep the medals.
My father gave me a locket which contained photographs of his twin cousins who were in the Canadian Army. Both were killed at The Somme. Stupidly I have managed to lose that locket and it has preyed on my mind since.
 
Good call on keeping them, My Grandad was a sapper in wwII , I have the replica medels he was awarded and although they dont live on the wall are kept in my bedside cabinet. Feel very proud to have them and do have a look every now and again.
 
I am glad to see the OP has decided to keep them.
Rob's idea is a good one, I try to take my boy to Remembrance, and I will keep doing so in order to educate him of those who went before, and those who will in the future.
he is growing up with an ever expanding group of 'uncles & aunties' any of whose names could one day adorn a memorial.
I would hope that (god forbid) anything should happen to me that he would want to keep my medals as an heirloom
 
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