Spartyguss Posted 5 January , 2014 Share Posted 5 January , 2014 Hi All, New here on this amazing forum . I am a member of a local history forum in Consett one of our members has discovered a few medals while out detecting in the fields.at various locations. any help or info would be fantastic. I do not know very much about these. The idea is to reunite these medals with the families , how they ended up in farmers field will remain a mystery. Best regards Guss. medal 1 was found between Leadgate and Iveston village. County Duham.It is for George Berry. believe given to families in WW 1 after the soldier was killed in action ? MEDAL 2 found at Stagshaw bank near Corbridge in Northumberland. The medal is for H.E.POWELL LOOKS LIKE 68453 DVR H.E.POWELL R.A . Also a German medal ? but not sure if this can be traced do not see a name will have to ask him if its printed around the edge , this was found near Leazes park Newcastle back in the 80s. MEDAL 3. Any help or info at all on any of these finds would be fantastic. As it would make a fantastic story to reunite these with families if possible. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Black Posted 5 January , 2014 Share Posted 5 January , 2014 the first one is a "death penny", as you say one was given to the nextof kin of every ww1 soldier that died during the war. There are 45 G. Berry's ofthe british forces on CWGC, one is buried in Durham, could have been liberated from a headstone in the cemetery? Often these were afixed to headstones by the family. Driver Powell of the Royal Artillery survived the war it seems, this is his 1915 star. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auchonvillerssomme Posted 5 January , 2014 Share Posted 5 January , 2014 Herbert E Powell has a medal index card on Ancestry also as 411980 Labour Corps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auchonvillerssomme Posted 5 January , 2014 Share Posted 5 January , 2014 The reason these items get into fields is the same reason we find other items not related to the context, they were probably lost in rubbish, dropped down toilets and taken away as night soil and deposited as fertiliser, I don't hold with them being chucked into a field by angry servicemen or relatives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spartyguss Posted 5 January , 2014 Author Share Posted 5 January , 2014 Wow ! thanks this is a great start thank you for this any info gained here will be passed on. Thank you so much. Guss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tunsilk Posted 5 January , 2014 Share Posted 5 January , 2014 Guss A possibility from this site http://eleventhdli.wordpress.com/roll-of-honour/names-be-to-bo/ Berry, George Private 25252, George Berry was born in Newcastle, enlisted in Stanley, and resident at South Moor. He was reported missing in action, 21 March 1918, which was the first day in which 11 DLI saw action during the German March Offensive, Operation Michael. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Pozières Memorial. His service records have not survived and there is no family information on the CWGC website. At the time of the 1911 Census a George Berry, aged 18 was living at 19 South Crescent, Cold Heseldon, Murton, Co Durham. He was a ‘colliery belt boy’, born Murton Colliery. His father was Samuel Berry, 65, a miner, originally from Worcestershire, and his mother Emma Jane, 54, originally from Dorset. This is possibly the same person, having moved for work to South Moor, near Stanley, Co Durham. He would therefore have been 25 at the time of his death and his parents may have been dead, hence the lack of family information. regards David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spartyguss Posted 5 January , 2014 Author Share Posted 5 January , 2014 Thanks David,Derek and all for this info that your bringing to light after all this time it is amazing !! This could well be the lad from Stanley as South moor Stanley is not that far away maybe some of his family or friends worked at Leadgate or Iveston Collieries. Will pass this on Cheers Guss. ps will keep all up to date if anything on our local history comes up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest exuser1 Posted 5 January , 2014 Share Posted 5 January , 2014 Years back I recall in the Western Front magazine a article where a lad with a detector had found a trio in a country field ,story that followed was a old boy came forward with the tale that back in the 1920s on November 11th he would wear is dads medals to school ,one year he managed to lose the medals on the way home from school , lots of tears and apologies to dad ,but 60 years on they came to light article in the local newspaper and a happy ending . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auchonvillerssomme Posted 5 January , 2014 Share Posted 5 January , 2014 Can you confirm the reverse of the medal, it looks like Gott vertraut und tüchtig um sich haut, Hat nicht auf Sand gebaut. ' Which very loosely translated by my resident German translator is 'God trusts and efficiently around itself strikes, on sand did not build.' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiegeGunner Posted 5 January , 2014 Share Posted 5 January , 2014 Wer nur auf Gott vertraut und feste um sich haut, hat nicht auf Sand gebaut. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auchonvillerssomme Posted 5 January , 2014 Share Posted 5 January , 2014 Yep can see the fest bit now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiegeGunner Posted 5 January , 2014 Share Posted 5 January , 2014 Alexander Gray, translating German pacifist (and author of the earlier book J'accuse) Richard Grelling's book 'Das Verbrechen' [The Crime], renders the Kaiser's dictum as: He who on God has planned Keeping his sword in hand He has not built on sand http://archive.org/stream/crimedasverbrech03grel/crimedasverbrech03grel_djvu.txt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spartyguss Posted 6 January , 2014 Author Share Posted 6 January , 2014 Hi, Just like to say a big thank you to all for helping shed light on these finds and men of the first war. its been amazing, I am getting quiet hooked on all this history on this site and all the amazing posts and help that is given by members. I take my hat off to you all. Best regards Guss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Hesketh Posted 6 January , 2014 Share Posted 6 January , 2014 the first one is a "death penny", as you say one was given to the nextof kin of every ww1 soldier that died during the war. There are 45 G. Berry's ofthe british forces on CWGC, one is buried in Durham, could have been liberated from a headstone in the cemetery? Often these were afixed to headstones by the family. Driver Powell of the Royal Artillery survived the war it seems, this is his 1915 star. And the 'penny' has a hole at the top so at some point it was modified so that it could be fixed to something, or something fixed to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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