Kitchener's Bugle Posted 21 February , 2014 Share Posted 21 February , 2014 Last week I was in the Dorchester which is the home of the Devon & Dorset Keep Museum. One outstanding medal collection that stood out was that to Lt Colonel Louis Arbon Strange - DSO OBE MC DFC & Bar, US Bronze Star. This surely must be a unique combination? Please forgive the quality of my photograph but you know what it is like with the lighting and reflections off of the glass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
centurion Posted 21 February , 2014 Share Posted 21 February , 2014 One of the few men to win a DFC in one world war and the bar in the next one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip Wilson Posted 21 February , 2014 Share Posted 21 February , 2014 STRANGE’s book ‘Recollections of an Airman’ published in 1933 is well worth reading – see photo of him. Philip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Upton Posted 22 February , 2014 Share Posted 22 February , 2014 Is the medal group his actual group, or a representitive group? I ask as the display group is missing the MID emblem on the VM he's clearly wearing in the portrait shot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitchener's Bugle Posted 22 February , 2014 Author Share Posted 22 February , 2014 Andrew, I believe that it is the original group. It had a prominent location within the medal room. KB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Upton Posted 22 February , 2014 Share Posted 22 February , 2014 Andrew, I believe that it is the original group. It had a prominent location within the medal room. KB Unfortunately prominence doesn't always equal originality. It's often cheaper insurance-wise for museums to have copies of particularly valuable groups on display and keep the originals tucked away safely in the bank or vault, and in those cases they're not always very forward in letting you know that the original receipient never saw or touched what you're looking at... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitchener's Bugle Posted 23 February , 2014 Author Share Posted 23 February , 2014 The reason why I suspect they are the real thing is that the 4 VC Groups on display where "the real thing" according to the Curator - I asked!. He might be fibbing but then again some of the other exceptional groups where definately the real thing, I had a good look at them close-up....having handled some of these orders in the past myself I was certain they where indeed genuine. Very difficult to "fake" those foreign Orders!. From the same Museum.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip Wilson Posted 23 February , 2014 Share Posted 23 February , 2014 Andrew, I believe that it is the original group. It had a prominent location within the medal room. KB If so then WW1 Victory medal is missing MID Emblem. Philip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitchener's Bugle Posted 23 February , 2014 Author Share Posted 23 February , 2014 Looks like it, it may have been lost? But then again they are easy to replicate and can be obtained freely for a couple of pounds, so if you were faking things then why not do this?. With of this said though I visited this museum, I am not the curator, "friend of" etc ... I just thought that I would take the opportunity to share what is a remarkable medal group to a remarkable man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Upton Posted 23 February , 2014 Share Posted 23 February , 2014 If so then WW1 Victory medal is missing MID Emblem. As I said in post 4, and prompted the subsequent train of posts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest exuser1 Posted 23 February , 2014 Share Posted 23 February , 2014 I visited the museum about 20 years ago on a diffrent quest ,and noticed the group it was on the top floor not in a prominent postion almost tucked away, i mentioned this to the lad who was in charge that day and said wow you have Stranges medal group,fantastic, he replied who? and where? incedently i was there to check over the 'Hitler' desk or not as it was . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gareth Davies Posted 23 February , 2014 Share Posted 23 February , 2014 The reason why I suspect they are the real thing is that the 4 VC Groups on display where "the real thing" according to the Curator - I asked!. He might be fibbing but then again some of the other exceptional groups where definately the real thing, I had a good look at them close-up....having handled some of these orders in the past myself I was certain they where indeed genuine. Very difficult to "fake" those foreign Orders!. From the same Museum.... I know the (new) curator, he ain't a fibber (nor was his predecessor). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ritterk Posted 28 February , 2014 Share Posted 28 February , 2014 Does anyone else find the presentation of these groups with new synthetic ribbons awful?..... Military museums the world over seem to think they have to strip these fascinating groups of their old silk ribbons and mount them totally artificially with modern synthetic ribbons... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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