markankers Posted 2 December , 2012 Share Posted 2 December , 2012 Hello everyone I have had my g/grandads ww1 medals handed down to me. the ribbons are in a poor state due to the age. I want to restore and mount them myself. has anyone got advice they can share with me, as i know nothing about medal mounting. i was issued a GSM for service in NI myself but mounting was done for me. many thanks to all mark Ankers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hughfw Posted 2 December , 2012 Share Posted 2 December , 2012 hi mark are they going to mounted for wear or framed for display ? . if they are mounted for wear in a court mounted style you will need 12 inches of each ribbon some buckram and a medal mounting brooch to start with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markankers Posted 3 December , 2012 Author Share Posted 3 December , 2012 hi i want to mount in a court style like the army did with my GSM. is it hard to do ? i saw on ebay you can get the ribbon. wats the back bit called that the medal is attached to. cheers mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
River97 Posted 3 December , 2012 Share Posted 3 December , 2012 Mark, You will need 12 inches of ribbon each for each medal. The backing board is called buckram. You also need some sticky backed felt, fine fishing line or brass, gold and silver thread. A medal brooch to fit three full sized medals. If you want to do it properly you should get the original silk ribbon. It is a little more expensive, but worth it in the long run. At the end of the day you need to feel comfortable in doing it yourself. If not there are plenty of people around who could do it for you. Have a look in the Yellow Pages. Cheers Andy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markankers Posted 3 December , 2012 Author Share Posted 3 December , 2012 cheers andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Lees Posted 3 December , 2012 Share Posted 3 December , 2012 Mark, Over on the British Medals Forum - http://www.britishmedalforum.com/ - there are a number of threads on the subject of DIY court mounting, including one I put together. All of the methods can be adapted to suit your needs and skills (or in my case, lack of skills). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1st AIF Posted 4 December , 2012 Share Posted 4 December , 2012 Hi Mark, I go against the grain here. Court mounting was almost never used by the WW1 veterans - its a modern day thing. The old ribbons that are on the medals are nearly 100 years old and were worn with pride. I'd keep them intact in your display as they form part of the history of the medal set. Len Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Lees Posted 4 December , 2012 Share Posted 4 December , 2012 I respect Len's view, but the way I look at it, if the veterans were here today they probably wouldn't want their medal ribbons to look tatty and uncared for. Also, ribbons can't be guaranteed to be the originals. I know of many veterans of a more recent era who have their groups remounted and spruced up every few years. These days I mount them to be displayed with pride and court-mounting, whilst not original does set off the medals nicely. I really like the 'museum display' uniformity of a number of groups together. I always keep the original ribbons though, so that a future owner can remount them if they wish. Each to their own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted 6 April , 2015 Share Posted 6 April , 2015 Hi Mark (River97), you have recommended obtaining silk ribbon .... I live in Australia but am prepared to purchase the right materials if the U.K. is the only place I can obtain it from. Can you recommend a supplier please? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sepoy Posted 7 April , 2015 Share Posted 7 April , 2015 Hi Mark, I go against the grain here. Court mounting was almost never used by the WW1 veterans - its a modern day thing. The old ribbons that are on the medals are nearly 100 years old and were worn with pride. I'd keep them intact in your display as they form part of the history of the medal set. Len Actually "Court" Mounting came about following complaints by King Edward VII, who did not like the sound of clanking medals in Court. Len is, however, quite correct in saying that most veterans wore their medals swing mounted from a medal brooch with an enlarged slot to take the Victory Medal ribbon. Not all WW1 medals were worn with pride, many were just left in their boxes, thrown in the back of a draw and forgotten about. If you can find such medals in their original cardboard boxes, you may find original medal ribbon with them. Personally, I leave any mounted medals (and boxed medals) "as found" but if you want to display medals groups in a uniform fashion "Court" mounting is the neatest way if done correctly. Hi Mark (River97), you have recommended obtaining silk ribbon .... I live in Australia but am prepared to purchase the right materials if the U.K. is the only place I can obtain it from. Can you recommend a supplier please? Gary Welcome to the Forum. Finding original silk WW1 medal ribbon has always been a problem and, about 20 years ago, I toured around India visiting numerous Military Tailors, enquiring about old stock, until I found several rolls of 1914 Star and Victory Medal ribbons. Unfortunately, I no longer have any to spare. The last time I was in Australia (8 years ago) there was a shop in Sydney (next to an old Police Station) close to the harbour, which sold reproduction medals and medal ribbons. Other than a quick look around, I did not take too much notice of the quality of the ribbon etc. Sorry, I cannot give a precise address. Sepoy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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