BWM + victory medals

[Guest fil]

I'm trying to find out about a BWM and victory medal which a friend found in a skip some years ago. In particular i'd like to know if the soldier survived the war but, knowing next to nothing about medals I have so far found nothing about the soldier.

does anyone know the best places to look on the net for this sort of info. or if it is likely that he would have survived?

The inscription on the medals say 15500 PTE G. Copeland N. Staff Regiment

Also, just out of interest are these medals common as a pair and roughly how much are they worth, they are in good condition and with ribbons?

Thanks for any help.

[Neil Burns]

Commonwealth war graves

Hi Fil,

First off welcome to the forum.

G. Copeland seems to have survived the war as he is not listed on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website. If you search this forum looking for "MIC online" or something similar you will find a link to the National Archives where you can look up his Medal Index Card whihc may give you some additional information.

More knowledgable folks will take you from here!

Take care,

Neil

[Terry Denham]

He does not appear in the CWGC list of war dead nor on 'Soldiers Died in the Great War' CD and so it looks like he survived.

I'll let our medal experts comment on their value etc but they are common as a pair (and must be kept together as a pair) as they were awarded for service abroad in a theatre of war after 31 December 1915. If you trace his history it is just possible that he was entitled to a third medal if he had war service overseas in 1914-15 (1914 Star or 1914-15 Star).

Forgot to say - welcome to the Forum.

[HarryBettsMCDCM]

Sadly his Medal Index Card does not appear to be on line @ present,so that means a physical search @ the National Archive {PRO}

[DirtyDick]

As they stand they are probably worth about £40 as a pair if they are in good condition or above; perhaps a tad more if sold on ebay/Speedbid as the N. Staffs appear to be quite collectable. The price of medals have been going up for a good few years (some say too far too fast, indicating a future slump to lower levels) so they would not devalue and would make a good, if modest, investment.

If research reveals that he was entitled to a gallantry award or other medals, this will impact positively on the price. If you look for the on-line London Gazette and search for military awards you can see if he received any bravery awards.

Richard