Pixie Posted 10 November , 2019 Share Posted 10 November , 2019 Hi everyone, hope someone can help. I'm on the hunt to help my husband find his grandads medals. His name was CSM WJ Coggins 1/4 Oxon and Bucks L infantry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mancpal Posted 10 November , 2019 Share Posted 10 November , 2019 British Medal Forum have a ‘searching for family medals’ section I think. If you tell us his full details there are experts on here who may be able to help, also I understand you can put an alert on eBay in case they crop up. good luck Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pixie Posted 10 November , 2019 Author Share Posted 10 November , 2019 Thankyou. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pixie Posted 11 November , 2019 Author Share Posted 11 November , 2019 Hi every one, I am looking for my husbands grandads medals. Info I have so far CSM William J Coggins Died Jan 1994 He was in 1/4 Oxon and Bucks Light Infantry. Was the youngest soldier ever to receive the DCM in the 1st world war. He was born and died In Banbury Oxfordshire. We have a bayonet that he took from a German soldier. We also have news paper clippings of him with his story on how he got his DCM. I'm hoping someone can help me out, I think I have seen them in the group here, I just need the Person who has them to get in touch please. Thankyou, this means so very much to my husband Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Michelle Young Posted 11 November , 2019 Admin Share Posted 11 November , 2019 I've merged the two threads you've made to avoid confusion and repetition. Michelle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pixie Posted 11 November , 2019 Author Share Posted 11 November , 2019 Thankyou very much Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted 11 November , 2019 Share Posted 11 November , 2019 Hi Pixie, Im afraid the DCM will probably man the current custodian (owner) will probably not want to stand up and say they own them, unless they are a dealer and will mark up the price accordingly. try putting his name on a ebay search, presumably you have asked remaining family members if they know the whereabouts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2ndCMR Posted 12 November , 2019 Share Posted 12 November , 2019 I'd suggest you get a copy of his will if that is available and if it is contact the other(?) beneficiaries or their descendants, and ask if any of them know anything about the medals. The mere fact that your husband does not know where his grandfather's medals went rather suggests something unusual about this situation, but without more information about the grandfather and his relationships it is hard to advise. If you have reason to believe they were sold, as your post seems to imply, I can't add much. In Canada medals were sometimes donated to Legion halls so if that is something the Royal British Legion allowed you might investigate that possibility if you think it likely. If the medals were sold, you might check the classified adverts in applicable journals around the time you think they might have been sold. In any case, it would be worth trying the "Wayback Machine" or Internet Archive. If you suspect the medals were stolen, you might contact your local police and ask them to contact eBay as the latter's policies state they will provide information on law enforcement on request, which should give you access to all relevant eBay sales right back to the late 1990s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pixie Posted 12 November , 2019 Author Share Posted 12 November , 2019 Hi Think we have found them. The medals were lost on a trip to France on Armistice day, someone found them and kept them. Since then they have been auctioned off twice that we know of, I have spoken to an auction house this morning and the last person that we know of that had bought them, the auction house had kindly offered to pass on our details to them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mancpal Posted 12 November , 2019 Share Posted 12 November , 2019 (edited) It’s hard not to get excited at such positive news but as has been mentioned the current owner may either not respond or may not wish to sell the medals. I hope you are successful, I am missing a trio to my granddad but in this case they are believed to have been thrown in the bin upon his death so fat chance I imagine. Simon Edited 12 November , 2019 by mancpal Bad spelling Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pixie Posted 12 November , 2019 Author Share Posted 12 November , 2019 I hope you get your trio back, all I can do at the moment is wait for a response, at least we know a collector has them. It would be a bonus to have them back in the family though. The stories I have heard about him are unbelievable and quite funny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mancpal Posted 12 November , 2019 Share Posted 12 November , 2019 I’ve been convinced over the years by my dad that the day after my grandads death my grandma flung all his belongings ( medals, German belt buckle etc) in the dust bin . She had a very hard time during the 20’s and 30’s looking after two young kids and a disabled husband (amputee from 3rd Ypres) and reading between the lines I think she’d had enough of all things war related Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pixie Posted 12 November , 2019 Author Share Posted 12 November , 2019 That is understandable, but a shame for you and the rest of your family. Yes it was hard for them in those days, my husbands father was in the Berlin airlift but he would never talk about it to him. One piece he has got from his grandad is a bayonet that he took from a German soldier with the belt complete, he also told him how he carried on his back the gramaphone across no man's land. He did make him laugh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2ndCMR Posted 12 November , 2019 Share Posted 12 November , 2019 3 hours ago, mancpal said: I’ve been convinced over the years by my dad that the day after my grandads death my grandma flung all his belongings ( medals, German belt buckle etc) in the dust bin . She had a very hard time during the 20’s and 30’s looking after two young kids and a disabled husband (amputee from 3rd Ypres) and reading between the lines I think she’d had enough of all things war related Who can blame her? Imagine the scene: living in some damn brick row house with a man made old before his time, whose only outlet for his traumas was drink and domestic abuse, struggling to subsist on a pittance, with no escape and no relief except drink or death. Homes fit for bloody heroes indeed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mancpal Posted 12 November , 2019 Share Posted 12 November , 2019 2nd CMR, He was not abusive towards his family though was known to have a short fuse when he felt wronged. He didn't drink at all simply because they had no money. He worked as a lowly paid storeman whilst his wife had a number of part time jobs often involving cleaning, again poorly paid. Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coldstreamer Posted 12 November , 2019 Share Posted 12 November , 2019 9 hours ago, Pixie said: Hi Think we have found them. The medals were lost on a trip to France on Armistice day, someone found them and kept them. Since then they have been auctioned off twice that we know of, I have spoken to an auction house this morning and the last person that we know of that had bought them, the auction house had kindly offered to pass on our details to them. if someone found them and made no effort to find the owner then thats theft by finding - not sure though if thats a crime in France- it is in the UK CMR was just generalising Im sure nothing specific about him was meant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pixie Posted 13 November , 2019 Author Share Posted 13 November , 2019 That's what I was thinking, they were lost in England . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2ndCMR Posted 14 November , 2019 Share Posted 14 November , 2019 (edited) On 12/11/2019 at 11:57, mancpal said: 2nd CMR, He was not abusive towards his family though was known to have a short fuse when he felt wronged. He didn't drink at all simply because they had no money. He worked as a lowly paid storeman whilst his wife had a number of part time jobs often involving cleaning, again poorly paid. Simon As noted above, I was not asserting that this particular man was abusive in a physical way, but was musing on the sad realities that confronted many, though the expression could have been better I agree. I will say though, that I happened to be talking a recent vet and PTSD sufferer a few days ago and he referred to exactly the dynamic I first mentioned in his own military family, going back at least three generations. One does have to accept that these things are much more common than reported, in keeping with most crimes I'm afraid. If we haven't "been and seen", things no one can forget, and in some cases done them, I'm afraid we can never really understand. Edited 14 November , 2019 by 2ndCMR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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