Kimberley John Lindsay Posted 4 May , 2020 Share Posted 4 May , 2020 Dear Brian, Therein lies a tale, to put it mildly:- In the September 2010 OMRS Journal I described not only the varied life of the perhaps wayward ex-Cavalry officer R.G. Aitken (1899-1953), but also the uncertain path of his medals. Two, the Defence Medal and War Medal 1939-45, seem to have been forfeited before being issued. Mention was made of a ‘renamed’ Victory Medal (to which he was not entitled), having been sold in 1988 with the surviving medals. These ‘surviving medals’, in my possession since August 2003 and which officialdom decreed be forfeited in 1950, are the British War Medal (2. LIEUT. R.G. AITKEN.), India General Service Medal GVR, clasp Afghanistan N.W. Frontier 1919 (LT. R.G. AITKEN, 27 L. CAVY.)(scored and renamed), and the General Service Medal GVR, clasp Iraq (LIEUT. R.G. AITKEN.). His qualification for these was never in doubt and renamed IGS medals to officers are frequently seen. However, since publication of his story, a photograph of Robert and Margaret Aitken (his first wife) has emerged. This shows the attractive couple at their society wedding in Edinburgh, on 19 April 1925. Former cavalry officer Aitken may well have required assistance from a military tailor to “look the part”. Apparently his sword is of non-regulation proportions, but of greater interest is his medal group of three. Clearly, his GSM clasp Iraq had not arrived in time for the wedding! It is well documented together with his BWM in the Medal Index Card for Lieut. R. G. Aitken, 5th Cavalry, Indian Army. What the military tailor may well have put together in 1925, is plainly his BWM (which was never in dispute), a Victory Medal (probably the renamed specimen last heard of in 1988) and the IGS Afghanistan N.W. Frontier 1919 (officially renamed) – the latter showing the reverse for the portrait photographer! Kindest regards, Kim. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kimberley John Lindsay Posted 4 May , 2020 Share Posted 4 May , 2020 Dear All, Here are some more "self-made" framed medals with their - often elusive - Portraits of the recipients. Kindest regards, Kim. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RNCVR Posted 4 May , 2020 Share Posted 4 May , 2020 1 hour ago, Kimberley John Lindsay said: Dear Brian, Therein lies a tale, to put it mildly:- In the September 2010 OMRS Journal I described not only the varied life of the perhaps wayward ex-Cavalry officer R.G. Aitken (1899-1953), but also the uncertain path of his medals. Two, the Defence Medal and War Medal 1939-45, seem to have been forfeited before being issued. Mention was made of a ‘renamed’ Victory Medal (to which he was not entitled), having been sold in 1988 with the surviving medals. Kindest regards, Kim. Well that is quite the interesting tale Kim! I did notice that his sword hilt(basket?) was quite large, he must have been a reason for this tho. I think we as medal collectors have learned to live with the curiosities of medals being added (& subtracted) from groups, made up groups, unentitlements, renamed medals, and the like. I expect the recipients never expected their medals to end up many yrs later in private medal collections. Was he not entitled to the Defence & War medals, & possibly the India War Service medal for 2WW, if so why were they forfeited? However I do like the many photo you have with your groups, it really makes the group when you have a photo of the recipient(s). Hope you are gradually recovering from the coronavirus in Germany now . Best Wishes! Bryan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RNCVR Posted 4 May , 2020 Share Posted 4 May , 2020 I prefer my framed groups to be as near original as possible. Here is one mounted in a solid piece of carved oak. The man was a forester before serving in the 1/8th Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders. He was killed 9/4/17 at Roclincourt, 1st Battle of the Scarpe, Arras. Phil, I really like that Memorial oak plaque you have posted, it is very attractive, & I have never seen one that ornate in the past! Quite a tribute to the man, Thanks, Bryan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RNCVR Posted 4 May , 2020 Share Posted 4 May , 2020 (edited) Many of my medal groups that I had framed i have already sold & did not retain photos of them. Also I have several of my groups housed in Riker frames since I dont have the wall space to display them. Also Riker frames are easy to get in & out of to alter or add to\remove from a display. Here is a nice long service grouping (service in RN & RAF from 1899 to 1945) to Group Captain Henry "Daddy" Dawes, Personnel Director for Bomber Command during 2WW. He has just recently left my collection after 30 yrs with me. I expect "Daddy" Dawes was the only RAF G\C to wear the RN LS medal - awarded on HMS Campania in 1916. Thanks, Bryan The foreign is Order of Polonia Restituta (Order of Poland Reconstituted), awarded 1945 AGS Somaliland 1902-04 medal awarded HMS Perseus. Edited 4 May , 2020 by RNCVR . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilB Posted 4 May , 2020 Share Posted 4 May , 2020 Another original, a L/Cpl of 7th Seaforth Highlanders KIA 25/9/15 at Hohenzollern Redoubt, Loos. I originally thought the round was a battlefield memento but now realize it is the pencil that came with the tin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chids Posted 4 May , 2020 Author Share Posted 4 May , 2020 Wow I am totally blown away and overwhelmed at the response to my original enquiry. The level of detail and the love and heartfelt dedication put into these wonderful pieces of memorabilia certainly do justice to those that have been remembered, but just as important it keeps their memories alive. I almost have too much choice now! just wanted to say how truly grateful I am to everyone for their wonderful contributions. I agree with one of the earlier posts as well, it would be nice to keep this thread running and people can add their own tributes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RNCVR Posted 6 May , 2020 Share Posted 6 May , 2020 (edited) As I mentioned in Post 30 I like to use Riker frames for my medal displays, makes storage much easier & I can easily alter them should I wish. This frame is for Captain Charles Ernest HOTHAM, DSC, RN. He had quite an eventful career during & after 1WW, the main highlight being his participation at the Battle of Jutland, 31 May 1 Jun 1916. Both he & his ship were extremely lucky to have survived considering pounding & damage HMS Broke took during the course of the action. At this time Lieut Hotham was Navigating Office of HMS Broke. DSC was awarded for service in Destroyers & Jutland, Order of St. Stanislaus (3rd cl) was for Jutland. closeup of medal group.... Small Silver Jutland medallion... Closeup of DSC.... Closeup of St Stanislaus..... Citation for DSC..... Edited 6 May , 2020 by RNCVR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RNCVR Posted 6 May , 2020 Share Posted 6 May , 2020 (edited) HMS Broke action at Jutland. Capt Hotham's gravesite in Malta, & newspaper article\obituary Gravesite at Capuccini Naval Cemetery, Malta. Capt Hotham's flat stone raised slightly on 3 blocks, in foreground Closeup of grave inscription Times of Malta article... Times of Malta - Partial obituary.... Edited 6 May , 2020 by RNCVR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chids Posted 6 May , 2020 Author Share Posted 6 May , 2020 Thanks Bryan, amazing detailed research and wonderful medal collections these are really impressive. I have just googled Riker Frames and these look ideal and great value for money. I am just thinking about the lay out and how much detail I want to include in with the medals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RNCVR Posted 6 May , 2020 Share Posted 6 May , 2020 Thanks Paul, appreciate yr positive comments! I really like Riker cases, I use two sizes - 12" x 16" x 1\2" depth, & 15 x 20 x 1" depth. They come smaller sizes also. They stack very easily & are easy to store. The 1" case is good for larger items & padded or somewhat thicker insignia. Depends on what I am planning to put in the frame. Really, you could include almost anything you would want to include in a display within the size of the frame. In addition to his\her medals I usually try to include a photo(if I have a good photo). a couple insignia that would have been worn by recipient, (sometimes insignia comes with the medals), his rank & rate badges(if applicable), & of course some recipient details, sometimes I can manage to get a brief career writeup in the frame as well. For every one of my men I keep a file folder with all of the research I have accumulated on each, I have all of my research folders in a 4 drawer filing cabinet. Will try to send couple case photos later, Best wishes! Bryan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RNCVR Posted 7 May , 2020 Share Posted 7 May , 2020 (edited) Paul, Here is a photo of the larger Riker case, it will take a fair amount of material, altho I have it very bunched up in this display as I wanted to keep his original 1937 Coronation certificates flat in the case with his insignia etc on top of them. I could have easily gone to 2 cases to make the display less cluttered looking. This CPO was a RCNVR pre 2WW rating & I have a good amount of original docs & photo for him only a very few in the case. He was a Chief Yeoman of Signals who rec'd the RCNVR LS medal with 2nd award clasp, quite rare to an RCNVR recipient as the great majority of them were demobilized after war's end, very few stayed on in the RCN(R) . I have the medal groups of three of the men shown in the bottom right 1937 RCN Coronation Contingent photo, including those of the Contingent Commanding Officer LtCr Hope RCN. Thanks, Bryan Edited 7 May , 2020 by RNCVR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chids Posted 7 May , 2020 Author Share Posted 7 May , 2020 Thanks Bryan, that is such an impressive amount of information gathered about one man! I Definitely like the idea of representing the regiment, in my case, the Essex Regiment in some way, I think this will certainly be something I will look to do. I also need a plaque or card to list the details of my great grandfather and I am toying with the idea of an image, but what image to use. I have amassed a lot of images regarding Galipolli, beaches, landing ship, pictures of the memorial at Helles etc, but its finding the most suitable or appropriate image, I need to give this some thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RNCVR Posted 7 May , 2020 Share Posted 7 May , 2020 (edited) Paul, here are a couple more frames..... I have removed the glass to eliminate the glare when photo'ing... The first frame, for CPO Arnold, I have included some of the letters of recommendation (there are several of them) written by his Officers as he was approaching pension after the China 1900 campaign. I have quite a bit of original documentation fo CPO Arnold, way more than would fit in several frames! I like his two original studio photos plus his original medal ribbon bar that presumably he wore on his tunic, the ribbons being quite worn thru age. As a CPO SG (Seaman Gunner) Arnold was a Chief Gunnery Instructor at HMS Excellent prior to being drafted out to China station on HMS Orlando. As a Chief Seamanship Instructor at Greenwich Hospital School for Boys, after he went to pension, he now wears his China 1900 medal. This school was primarily to train young boys for entry into the RN & Merchant service. He was employed here until call up for 1WW. I have never seen an example of the cap badge he is wearing. Edited 7 May , 2020 by RNCVR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RNCVR Posted 7 May , 2020 Share Posted 7 May , 2020 These frames can also be used for displaying single medals. In this frame I have displayed all of my Victorian Naval Schoolmaster medals. Naval Schoolmasters were Chief Petty Officers, & together with Engine Room Artificers & Electrical Artificers the highest paid of Naval ratings. They wore a single gold star on the lapels of their uniform tunics. Best Wishes! Bryan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kloughnane Posted 7 May , 2020 Share Posted 7 May , 2020 Paul, With regards to the choice of image - if you don't have a photo of the man himself, would you consider using a photo of his grave or memorial? When I bought my poppy from the Tower of London in 2014 I had it framed and included a photo of my great grandfather plus a photo of the Basra Memorial and the panel on which he is named. I also included some details of my wife's great uncle (Merchant Navy WW2). I don't have a photo of him so I placed a photo of his ship, a photo of the Merchant Navy Memorial at Tower Hill and the panel on which he is named. Regards, Kev Loughnane Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RNCVR Posted 7 May , 2020 Share Posted 7 May , 2020 Kev, That is a very nice memorial you have constructed in memory of your great grandfather & wife's great uncle. Is the case made of pexiglass? Thanks & best wishes... Bryan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kloughnane Posted 7 May , 2020 Share Posted 7 May , 2020 Bryan, Yes it is a plastic. I wasn't sure how to display the poppy and had considered all sorts of frames, but then I found a dealer on ebay. He was making different designs of frames specifically for the Tower poppies - some were (as I bought) for the poppy to be displayed complete vertically, and others to display horizontally. The irony is that the frame cost more than the poppy! (poppy was £25.00, frame was £75.00). However I am happy with the result. I understand that the frames were designed to include the certificate of authenticity and a photo of the poppies in the moat - but I had already decided that I wanted it to be a memorial to two individual men. So like Paul (Chids), I had to work out the best way for me to do that!! I think that the frame manufacturer does a lot of other stuff in plastics? Regards, Kev Loughnane Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RNCVR Posted 7 May , 2020 Share Posted 7 May , 2020 Thanks Kev for the explanation. I live in Canada but did see the Tower of London Great War Poppy display on internet, it was very impressive. When we were in London in '06 we visited the Tower among many other sites & the weather was beautiful - we visited in early fall, & trained down o Portsmouth for a week there, I had not been to Ports since I was in RCN in '60's, the change here was considerable! Would you consider adding replica medals to represent what both men earned for their service to add to your display? There seem to be space for those. & do you know what medals they would be entitled to? Best wishes.. Bryan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kloughnane Posted 7 May , 2020 Share Posted 7 May , 2020 Bryan, The Poppies in the Tower display was fantastic - I consider myself lucky that living in London meant that I was able to visit on numerous occasions and watch it grow. The icing on the cake was attending an evening roll call and hearing my great grandfather's name being read out by a Beefeater With regards to displaying replica medals I decided to follow my wife's advice that 'less is more'! The Tower poppy is on display in my dining room (I wanted it in the entrance hall but the frame is too large), but I do have replicas of my great grandfather's medals in a frame in the spare bedroom (that is the photo previously attached). I have no idea as to the medal entitlement of my wife's great uncle (WW2 so outside the remit of this forum). A shame really as it was his story that encouraged me to find out about my great grandfather's WW1 service. The reality is that living in a small house I only have limited display/storage space!! Regards, Kev Loughnane. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chids Posted 7 May , 2020 Author Share Posted 7 May , 2020 Thanks Kev and Bryan for some great ideas and suggestions and some great images. I am amazed at how large your medal collection is Bryan and how many frames you have done, I'm sure those recipients of the wonderful displays that you have created will have been eternally grateful. The poppy in the case looks amazing Kev, the case really sets this off, it looks wonderful. I do like the idea of a picture of the Helles memorial and the section that my great grandfathers name is mentioned and will probably go with that idea to go alongside the medals. As a different question, can you buy regiment badges suitable for display cases online? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kloughnane Posted 8 May , 2020 Share Posted 8 May , 2020 Paul, I used standard cap badges that I had purchased through ebay. I didn't do the framing myself but I don't believe that there were any major issues involved in the framing. But one thing I would suggest that you take into consideration when purchasing, is the crown. If the cap badge is surmounted by a crown then it will most likely be a King's crown for a WW1 soldier, as opposed to a Queen's crown for a more modern one. Regards, Kev Loughnane Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RNCVR Posted 8 May , 2020 Share Posted 8 May , 2020 14 hours ago, chids said: Thanks Kev and Bryan for some great ideas and suggestions and some great images. I am amazed at how large your medal collection is Bryan and how many frames you have done, I'm sure those recipients of the wonderful displays that you have created will have been eternally grateful. I used to have around 50 Riker cases at one time, I may have 40 or thereabouts left, plus another 20 or so frames on wall. I have been collecting medals over 50 yrs now & have had quite a large collection. But am selling out gradually so not as many now! However I still enjoy looking at medals (& badges as well) have not lost interest just made the decision not to collect anymore. & have enjoyed viewing the medals & badges on display here on the GWF! Best to all! Bryan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RNCVR Posted 8 May , 2020 Share Posted 8 May , 2020 16 hours ago, kloughnane said: Bryan, The Poppies in the Tower display was fantastic - I consider myself lucky that living in London meant that I was able to visit on numerous occasions and watch it grow. The icing on the cake was attending an evening roll call and hearing my great grandfather's name being read out by a Beefeater With regards to displaying replica medals I decided to follow my wife's advice that 'less is more'! The Tower poppy is on display in my dining room (I wanted it in the entrance hall but the frame is too large), but I do have replicas of my great grandfather's medals in a frame in the spare bedroom (that is the photo previously attached). I have no idea as to the medal entitlement of my wife's great uncle (WW2 so outside the remit of this forum). A shame really as it was his story that encouraged me to find out about my great grandfather's WW1 service. The reality is that living in a small house I only have limited display/storage space!! Regards, Kev Loughnane. Yes, I have viewed your displays in post 13 & 15, they are quite nicely done & a great memorial to your family ancestors! I do like the ceramic(?) poppy tho, beauty of it is it will last forever. I too dont have a large medal room as I started downsizing 20 yrs ago when I retired. & that is one reason I like using the Riker cases for display, as thy are easily stackable & storable. Best wishes! Bryan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kloughnane Posted 8 May , 2020 Share Posted 8 May , 2020 Bryan, Your displays are amazing - you have obviously put a lot of time, effort, thought and money into them. I suspect that other forum members will get some inspiration from you and hopefully will be able to commemorate their own ancestors in such a fitting manner. Regards, Kev Loughnane Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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