MEDALS IDENTIFICATION

[chris basey]

Knowing the expertise that resides within the Forum I expect there is someone who can sort this one out and tell me something about this old friend!

[Guest Ian Bowbrick]

Chris - The one hanging off his lapel looks like an unofficial commemorative medal possibly made of white metal - one of Queen Victoria's Jubilees?

Ian

[Paul Reed]

Difficult one! The second and the third one are contendors for the British War Medal and TF War Medal, but also might be the Special Constabulary medal for WW1.

Is this a relative you know something about, or someone in fancy dress??

Any idea of ID or date?

[Guest Ian Bowbrick]

Second from the right looks like a WW1 Merchantile Marine medal (?)

Ian

[chris basey]

No, not a relative! One of the characters in a set of photographs published in 1981 under the title 'Pictures from a Village'. Village in question Castle Acre, Norfolk, a place that we have visited today, as it happens.

Interesting thing is that the author of the book spied some photograhic plates being used as garden cloches in the photographer's cottage garden! Further enquiries revealed that she still had plates of pictures taken in the 1920's when she was a press photographer. Having taken the pictures she would hurry hometo the dark room, develop and print them and then cycle to the nearest station to get them into the next edition.

Maybe a bit off topic but all those pictures of WW1 at home and abroad must have been produced under very similar conditions.

Thanks for the suggestions. His name was Robert Earl so when you are fit again, Ian, you might see something about him at NA?

[Staffsyeoman]

I hazard to suggest that three of the five (in fact the third, fourth and fifth) are BWM, Mercantile Marine War Medal and Victory Medal. First looks like - as suggested - an unofficial coronation etc medal. Second's a puzzler. I don't think there's a TFWM there, though.