Returned Medals

[Greyhound]

Could someone please advise on the reason for the return of this man's medals please? It's got 1743 K.R., then a further ref 7860/ adr (or adv).

[ItemCo16527]

King's Regulations 1743:

"Medals which, at the end of 10 years, still remained unclaimed, will be sent to the India Office (if granted for India Service), or to the deputy director of ordnance stores, Royal Dockyard (Medal Branch), Woolwich (if granted for other services) to be broken up."

[Greyhound]

Thanks, Jeff, I suspected it was that. How sad that there was no one to claim the medals - the parents were dead, but this chap was one of nine brothers & sisters. You'd think there would have been someone .... anyway that more or less confirms for me that he didn't leave a wife and family behind.

[ItemCo16527]

I often think about that too when I see MICs like this. Sometimes, it's a case of the family not wanting a painful reminder of their child or spouse's death, and other times it's just a simple case of the family moving and not leaving a forwarding address. Either way, the man's medals went unwanted and were sent to be scrapped.

[Greyhound]

The nice thing is he's on two war memorials in neighbouring villages, so people in both places cared enough about him to do that.

[ItemCo16527]

Thank god for memorials. Without them, men like him could wind up completely forgotten.