Unit abbreviation on medal engraving

[johnnyg]

Friends,

I'm helping out a friend who has a British War Medal with an engraving that is quite worn. There are only a few legible characters so I haven't got a full name or number. I can make out "R I R" followed by some partial characters. Can any one tell me what form the unit names for the Royal Irish Regiment & Royal Irish Rifles would usually take on an engraved medal.

I don't have any examples of my own to compare against.

Thanks

Johnny

[headgardener]

'R. Ir. Rgt' and 'R. Ir. Rif.'

Sounds like it may be a partially erased medal, judging by what you say about the lettering.

[johnnyg]

'R. Ir. Rgt' and 'R. Ir. Rif.'

Sounds like it may be a partially erased medal, judging by what you say about the lettering.

Hi Headgardener,

Your knowledge is surpassed only by your speed of reply! Thanks for that I'm pretty sure now that it's "R. Ir. Rif." The next part is the difficult bit in trying to match what's left of the name & number to a record.

Were medals erased on purpose do you know? Any particular reason?

Thanks

Johnny

[headgardener]

Several possible reasons;

Someone wanted to 'preserve' their own medals, so they bought a spare set for wearing 'out'

Someone bought the medal in order to 'pass themselves off' as a veteran (maybe they had served at home and felt that they deserved to have a medal or 2 on their chest on Remembrance Day parades).

The recipient served with more than one unit and didn't have fond memories of the unit that was impressed on the rim of the medal, and the erasure represents an attempt at 'forgetting' that aspect of his past.

The recipient didn't agree with some details that were impressed on the rim (perhaps he served overseas as a Private, but ended the war at home as a sergeant, and felt 'short-changed' by a medal that showed a more junior rank)

Perhaps there was a mistake on the medal (plenty of MIC's record that the medal(s) had to be returned for amendment), and the partial erasure represents an attempt at 'correcting' it. An 'official' erasure is usually a very professional job, and is hard to spot unless you know what to look for.

There are probably some other reasons, too. Through normal wear, medals don't generally get worn so severely that the details around the rim are illegible. That's why I say that a partial erasure is a likelihood. Unless it's so heavily polished that almost all detail on the obverse and reverse are also almost lost.

[Jim Strawbridge]

Several possible reasons;

Someone wanted to 'preserve' their own medals, so they bought a spare set for wearing 'out'

Someone bought the medal in order to 'pass themselves off' as a veteran (maybe they had served at home and felt that they deserved to have a medal or 2 on their chest on Remembrance Day parades).

The recipient served with more than one unit and didn't have fond memories of the unit that was impressed on the rim of the medal, and the erasure represents an attempt at 'forgetting' that aspect of his past.

The recipient didn't agree with some details that were impressed on the rim (perhaps he served overseas as a Private, but ended the war at home as a sergeant, and felt 'short-changed' by a medal that showed a more junior rank)

Perhaps there was a mistake on the medal (plenty of MIC's record that the medal(s) had to be returned for amendment), and the partial erasure represents an attempt at 'correcting' it. An 'official' erasure is usually a very professional job, and is hard to spot unless you know what to look for.

There are probably some other reasons, too. Through normal wear, medals don't generally get worn so severely that the details around the rim are illegible. That's why I say that a partial erasure is a likelihood. Unless it's so heavily polished that almost all detail on the obverse and reverse are also almost lost.

Dare I say it but you have missed another reason that the naming may have been erased. And that is that the medal was stolen in a burglary and erased by the thief so that he could sell it on as un-named without repercussion or, if the BWM, for the silver value. Selling named medals could lead a burglary back to him. If you can post what lettering is showing it may just be possible that someone will be able to fathom it out.

[johnnyg]

Thanks Headgardener,

Very interesting. I'll make sure to let you know what I find out.

Regards

Johnny

[DCLI]

Thanks Headgardener,

Very interesting. I'll make sure to let you know what I find out.

Regards

Johnny

Also, a genuine recipient who had had his medal stolen or lost or pawned it and then wanted to remake up his group.