mw25 Posted 20 October , 2015 Share Posted 20 October , 2015 A brief update on my application - I still haven't received the medals. Following my last post in June, I phoned the medal office who said my case was being investigated and that they'd email me with the outcome within a week. Their email apologised for the delay, said this was due to them investigating which medals could be re-issued. This investigation had been triggered by me querying why all 3 medals awarded could not be re-issued - they had originally only mentioned reissuing the victory & war medals (and not the Star medal which he'd also been awarded). They explained why this was the case - apparently the word "returned" on his medal card only related to these 2 medals - this was not initially apparent to me. Anyway, they confirmed that only 2 medals could be reissued and that these had been ordered (no timescales given). In September, having heard nothing, I emailed them and received no reply so I phoned and a week later someone called me back. He told me the reason for the delay was that the Royal Mint moulds to be used needed some work & cleaning and that this was now being done. I'm told I should have the medals before end of November. Apparently, there are about a dozen people in the same position with their application for WW1 medals. So I need to wait a little longer. Hopefully I will get them this year. Just wondered if anyone else has managed to get medals reissued yet? Regards ... Malcolm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anneca Posted 20 October , 2015 Share Posted 20 October , 2015 Malcolm, I am delighted you seem to be getting somewhere with this. The fact the MOD Medals Office have said you should receive the medals before the end of November is very positive indeed. I can understand why they will only re-issue medals that appear to have been "returned" on the MIC as this is their ruling. In any case the end of November is not far away so hang on there and await the excitement of their parcel arriving. Thanks for keeping us up to date and great to know there could be around a dozen or so people joining my Brother-in-Law in having re-issued medals after such a long time. Anne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mw25 Posted 21 October , 2015 Share Posted 21 October , 2015 Anne, thanks for your interest. Although I get a little frustrated with what seems a long wait, I'll be delighted to get them this year - the 100th anniversary of my grandfather's death at Gallipoli. I'll probably never know what happened to his Star medal - I can't find any trace of it in the family. The MOD Medals Office detailed the different timescales for issuing WW1 medals which I hadn't fully appreciated originally. They tell me that the Star medal would have been sent to my grandfather's widow in 1919/20. She died from TB in September 1920, having changed address several times from 1915-20, and my father was then brought up by his grandparents in a different town. So there was lots of scope for medals not being delivered. However, there is no evidence that the Star was returned so my grandmother may have received it - and then it just got lost or mislaid over time. I'll look into obtaining a replica for his Star medal. I note there's been some discussion on this board about this & suggested suppliers so I'll check that out again. Malcolm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1RGLI Posted 31 October , 2015 Share Posted 31 October , 2015 Are there any more success stories like this one since? and the ribbons on the issued pair is not bad considering..... Mark. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tullybrone Posted 17 December , 2015 Author Share Posted 17 December , 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
green_acorn Posted 18 December , 2015 Share Posted 18 December , 2015 I have kept an eye on this thread for a while as my Great Grandfather A/MA J.Piper RE IWT served in France was not issued his medals and his MIC records him as not having entitlement. I managed to get his medical file which showed that he had embarked in the UK for France in September 1916, was in an accident at Houplines, France in February 1917 which required his evacuation to the UK and got back to France in late 1918 and was on the staff of GHQ BEF in Dec 1918. There was clearly an error on his MIC, but not surprising. Given that I live in Australia I emailed my enquiry to the Medal Office with the details of my GGFathers service and received the standard reply, no medals issued from prior to 1939. This was very dissapointing for me as my father who is the oldest surviving relative had only found out about his Grandfather service with the RE IWT when I told him ten years ago, my father served in the Australian Army RAE Water Transport commanding an LST in the early 60's and served at the Port and Terminal Regiment Marchwood UK in 67-68. So the gongs would have some real sentimental meaning to him and me. Noting the recent comments about medals being struck by the Royal Mint this year, any thoughts on whether I should repechage my request? If so how/key points of issue with the Medal Office? Cheers, Hendo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tullybrone Posted 18 December , 2015 Author Share Posted 18 December , 2015 Hi, My understanding is that Commissioned officers had to apply for their medals unlike "other ranks" where their medals were automatically issued and sent to the address provided on discharge (slightly different for deceased soldiers where, in simple terms, War Office issued medals to official NOK). My understanding of the "returned medals" criteria for reissue by MOD is A. Medals most have been issued to recipient or NOK B. Following issue the medals were returned to Medal Office and not subsequently reissued Various reasons for return to Medal Office (actually Infantry Records Office) such as to rectify a mistake in the medal naming or failure to deliver the medal by the Post Office (named recipent having moved house and left no forwarding address). IMHO If an officer declined to apply for his medals to be issued post WW1 then his descendants do not meet the criteria to enable MOD to "reissue" the medals such as in the successful examples of reissued medals mentioned in this thread. Regards Steve Y Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Upton Posted 18 December , 2015 Share Posted 18 December , 2015 IMHO If an officer declined to apply for his medals to be issued post WW1 then his descendants do not meet the criteria to enable MOD to "reissue" the medals such as in the successful examples of reissued medals mentioned in this thread. The optimist in me says it has to be worth a try though, when made with a good argument. They may be lucky! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
green_acorn Posted 20 December , 2015 Share Posted 20 December , 2015 Hi, My understanding is that Commissioned officers had to apply for their medals unlike "other ranks" where their medals were automatically issued and sent to the address provided on discharge (slightly different for deceased soldiers where, in simple terms, War Office issued medals to official NOK). ... Regards Steve Y Steve, Thank you for that information, I was not aware of it. My understanding is that over here in the antipodies, medals were automatically issued to everyone with the entitlement. He was a Kiwi, but had spent most of his adult life in South America as a civil engineer building railways, leaving Argentina in 1916 to join the war at 44. Shortly after the war he left the UK for work in SE Asia. So I don't imagine the gongs were high on his agenda, though from talk within the family, I have a thought that he would have regarded it as below himself to request anything.. Andrew, I concur. I will try again with copies of the evidence, not just the references. My father was a bit irritated that his Grand Father never told him about his IWT service, the first time they met in the early 60's when my father took him down to the Army docks in Sydney to show him over the LST my father commanded. The old ****** never said a word about his WW1 service and his work as a civil engineer with the IWT. Cheers, Hendo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tullybrone Posted 20 December , 2015 Author Share Posted 20 December , 2015 Hi, Please keep us posted on how you get on with UK MOD. Good Luck Steve Y Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mw25 Posted 8 February , 2016 Share Posted 8 February , 2016 Good news to report. I have received my grandfather's reissued WW1 medals (Victory & War medals). I was concerned when they didn't arrive by the end of November (the target date they'd given me) and phoned them mid-December. I was told there were still problems with the moulds at Royal Mint who they have a contract with for this. I was told I should get them "hopefully in the new year" and they again mentioned there were about a dozen people in the same position waiting for WW1 medals. I was just about to phone them again for any news when the postman knocked on the door this morning with a jiffy bag from the MOD. I would like to thank people on this thread, particularly Anne, for their informative posts otherwise I wouldn't have known about this possibility. It's taken a long time - about 9 months since my application was accepted - but worth it in the end. They look good - remarkably shiny. I'll post some photos if anyone is interested to see them. I didn't manage to get his Star medal reissued because, as mentioned in earlier posts, I had no proof that this was returned, so I'll look into obtaining a replica. Does anyone have any recommended suppliers for this? Regards Malcolm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anneca Posted 9 February , 2016 Share Posted 9 February , 2016 Good news to report. I have received my grandfather's reissued WW1 medals (Victory & War medals). I was concerned when they didn't arrive by the end of November (the target date they'd given me) and phoned them mid-December. I was told there were still problems with the moulds at Royal Mint who they have a contract with for this. I was told I should get them "hopefully in the new year" and they again mentioned there were about a dozen people in the same position waiting for WW1 medals. I was just about to phone them again for any news when the postman knocked on the door this morning with a jiffy bag from the MOD. I would like to thank people on this thread, particularly Anne, for their informative posts otherwise I wouldn't have known about this possibility. It's taken a long time - about 9 months since my application was accepted - but worth it in the end. They look good - remarkably shiny. I'll post some photos if anyone is interested to see them. I didn't manage to get his Star medal reissued because, as mentioned in earlier posts, I had no proof that this was returned, so I'll look into obtaining a replica. Does anyone have any recommended suppliers for this? Regards Malcolm Malcolm, I am so very pleased for you so congratulations indeed. No thanks needed at all to me and I would love to see them very much. Wonderful news!!!! Anne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rflory Posted 9 February , 2016 Share Posted 9 February , 2016 Malcolm: I would love to see good photos of both the obverse and reverse of the medals and of the naming if possible. Regards, Dick Flory Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tullybrone Posted 9 February , 2016 Author Share Posted 9 February , 2016 Hi, It's good to hear about another successful application. Regards Steve Y Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mw25 Posted 10 February , 2016 Share Posted 10 February , 2016 Here are some photos of my grandfather's medals as promised, showing both sides and naming. It's not easy to get quality images within the forum size limitations so hope these post OK after resizing. I tried with flash but too much reflection so these are without flash. Images shown in several replies. Malcolm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mw25 Posted 10 February , 2016 Share Posted 10 February , 2016 Photos - part 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mw25 Posted 10 February , 2016 Share Posted 10 February , 2016 Photos - part 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mw25 Posted 10 February , 2016 Share Posted 10 February , 2016 Photos - part 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mw25 Posted 10 February , 2016 Share Posted 10 February , 2016 Photos - part 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anneca Posted 11 February , 2016 Share Posted 11 February , 2016 Malcolm, thank you for going to the trouble of posting the photographs of your Grandfather's medals. Absolutely wonderful and very clear - I know you will cherish these. Regards, Anne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
james_harvey Posted 11 February , 2016 Share Posted 11 February , 2016 I've applied for my great uncles and should be here in 2 weeks. I have also applied for my great grandfathers victory medal and 1914 clasp He was only issued the 1914 star and war medal as all records state victory medal return unissued. Will let you k ow how I get on Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilco Posted 11 February , 2016 Share Posted 11 February , 2016 Malcolm, many thanks for posting the photos. Is the edge marked REPLACEMENT or DUPLICATE or just R after the regiment? If so, could you possibly post a photo of that? Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilco Posted 11 February , 2016 Share Posted 11 February , 2016 Malcolm you have a PM. Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anneca Posted 12 February , 2016 Share Posted 12 February , 2016 Malcolm, many thanks for posting the photos. Is the edge marked REPLACEMENT or DUPLICATE or just R after the regiment? If so, could you possibly post a photo of that? Bill Bill, the MOD does not mark replacement or duplicate on these medals. I can only assume the "R" impressed on the edge of Malcolm's Grandfather's medals is BMBR (Bombardier). Anne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mw25 Posted 12 February , 2016 Share Posted 12 February , 2016 Malcolm, many thanks for posting the photos. Is the edge marked REPLACEMENT or DUPLICATE or just R after the regiment? If so, could you possibly post a photo of that? Bill Bill Anne is correct that the MOD does not mark these as replacement or duplicate. Indeed, he was a bombardier in the RFA. The full wording & spacing is:- 154. BMBR. J. WOODS. RFA. I've seen your PM and will reply shortly. Malcolm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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