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Remembered Today:

Medal Collection - Colour Sgt J W Mullins KOYLI


Lee Mullins

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Evening all.

100 years on I just thought I would share my GGF collection.

Over the years I’ve managed to obtain my mans service papers and other memories and put into a nice old wooden collectors box.

Medal list :

Queens Mediterranean Medal

Distinguished Conduct Medal

Campaign Trio

Meritorious Service Medal

Long Service & Good Conduct Medal

 

He served in the boer war as a young lad in the militia gaurding pow’s and then ww1 noteably at the battle of le cateau and lastly on air raid patrol as an old timer in ww2

 

 

CB5CD037-A4A7-4847-B172-87FC39A5D049.jpeg

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Lee,

 

You have done a very nice job of displaying your ggf’s memorabilia.

Very lucky to have had them handed down intact!

I imagine that like many/most who went through the hell of WW1 he probably never spoke of it.

Was he captured at Le Cateau?

 

Regards,

 JMB 

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Thanks, JMB

 

Thats correct, he was captured at that battle.....one of the extremely lucky survivors...

My great aunt once told me that as you mention he never spoke of it but only one time.

She told me he was captured with a chap called Major Yate who won the VC for leading 19 lucky survivors of the battle of le cateau in a charge against the enemy

They were captured and put in a POW camp together. 

Ive read about the battle and like all the horrors faced by all involved in all the battles, it’s hard to understand or apprehend what they faced.

 

Just now, trench whistle said:

I would think his ARP duties entitled him to the Defence Medal as well.

That maybe true, I was led to believe there is one possible two medals missing from his collection 

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Dear Lee,

A very evocative presentation, indeed!

Just one small point: the DCM comes before the QSA. 

Kindest regards,

Kim.

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2 hours ago, Kimberley John Lindsay said:

Dear Lee,

A very evocative presentation, indeed!

Just one small point: the DCM comes before the QSA. 

Kindest regards,

Kim.

Thanks Kim. I am really proud of it too .. Thanks for the comments:)

The first medal in his collection is the Queens Mediterranean Medal, which is slightly different to the QSA.

This being is the word South Africa being replaced by Mediterranean... 

There were 178,000 QSA issued but only 5000 QMM issued.... I believe ..

The medals were originally in a small presentation display box put together by a guy that worked at the KOYLI museum... He put them in this order, so I just thought that this order was how they should be so now I am intrigued..

 

 

 

 

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Dear Lee,

The DCM was a highly-regarded Decoration, whereas the earlier-awarded and (as you correctly pointed out) quite rare Queen's Mediterranean was a Campaign medal and as such should take place behind the DCM and before the 1914 Star and clasp Trio, followed by a possible Defence Medal, and then the LSGC and MSM (the latter also highly-regarded)...

Of course, one should not be too dogmatic. There is no harm in leaving it "as is"!

Kindest regards,

Kim.

Edited by Kimberley John Lindsay
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Very nice group Lee and, as has been pointed out, VERY special with that DCM. That Mediterranean is also a lovely and unusual thing. Out of interest you say that there might be one or two missing. Apart from the Defence Medal, which you are already aware of, any idea what else isn't there? As you are probably aware the Defence Medals were not named and are easy enough to find should you want one. If the others were squeezed in a tad I reckon you would have plenty of room for one.

 

Mike

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19 hours ago, Medaler said:

Very nice group Lee and, as has been pointed out, VERY special with that DCM. That Mediterranean is also a lovely and unusual thing. Out of interest you say that there might be one or two missing. Apart from the Defence Medal, which you are already aware of, any idea what else isn't there? As you are probably aware the Defence Medals were not named and are easy enough to find should you want one. If the others were squeezed in a tad I reckon you would have plenty of room for one.

 

Mike

Thanks, Mike. I am not 100% sure which 2 could be the ones missing, it sounds probable from comments here that the defence medal is one. I’m just led to believe that there was certainly once 9 medals in total but by the time I came to be passed the collection, all people I could have gone to in the family for information had passed away..... The original info that there were 9 came from my great aunt. Sadly I will never know but the collection is pretty neat as it is. The guys at the Koyli museum told us it’s pretty unique for the regiment given the time span of medals earned... I may just add the defence medal to emphasise this but I’ll just check to see that my ggf was definitely entitled to one first 

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Hi,

 

If he served post 1921 his service papers will likely still be with MOD Glasgow. If so his Army (not ARP)  medal entitlement will be recorded on his papers.

 

It might be worth applying for his service papers - here is the link...

 

https://www.gov.uk/get-copy-military-service-records/apply-for-someone-elses-records

 

Steve

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Very interesting that Mullins was awarded his DCM for services as a POW rather than the action at Le Cateau - he appears in the "POW" London Gazette in 1920.

 

 

J

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