Hello there. My husband wishes to claim a deceased family member's WW2 medals .... basically, he is the grandson of an uncle to the medal earner - thus, a son of the medal earners first cousin. We have the Certificate of Kinship form in front us and don't know where to tick for 'Part 2 - Next of Kin'. No spouse or children existed and no parent/cousins/uncles/aunts live. Any help gratefully received ... as ever. Best Regards Heather
Hi Heather I think just state that, if you can prove he is the closest next of kin that would satisfy them. Or you could give them a ring and discuss it. regards Robert
Thanks for the advice, Robert. My husband's late father would have ticked "K. Children of uncles/aunts of the whole blood". Now .... if there were a "Grandchildren of uncles/aunts of the whole blood" category, there'd be no problem - but there isn't :-( Many thanks again. Heather
I sent for a relatives medals and had to get a written letter of permission from the oldest living relative of the deceased, an aunt of mine. giving me permission to obtain them.
Hi Heather, This can be a prolonged and sometimes daunting task trying to obtain information regarding WW2 servicemen and women, even if you're the next-of-kin, however stay the course it can take anything between 6 - 12 months before you receive a response. You'll need as NorfolkBoy advised previously, a letter giving you authority and the next-of-kin pages filled out correctly you'll also need to send copies of birth, marriage and death certificates to confirm your relationship. Just a point to note; if your family member was a casualty during the war his papers may not confirm this and as per The access to Health Records Act 1990, there's no automatic right to access unless of course you're pursuing inheritance or litigation. The medical records are in a storage centre and are currently unobtainable! It might help you to call in the first instance so that you're clear and I've listed below the contact details for anybody reading this. Army Personnel Centre Support Branch Disclosures 3 MP 525 Kentigern House 65 Brown Street Glasgow G2 8EX Telephone: 0141-224-5231 Medal Claims Enquiries direct to: Ministry of Defence Medal Office Innsworth House Imjin Barracks Innsworth Gloucester GL3 1HW Telephone: 0141-224-3600 Good luck I hope the info helps. Kind regards Terry
Hi All .... for some terrible reason I missed thanking you for these last two posts of information ...... that's remiss of me as I always like to 'close off' with final thanks. My husband applied ... and so did I at the same time, for my Uncle's medals (Japanese POW, victim). It was all a bit disconcerting we didn't receive an acknowledgement (understable - saves costs) so we just waited with our fingers crossed. My husband received his relative's medals after quite a wait but my Uncle's were not appearing :-( It was months later when an envelope arrived for me - so long that I couldn't work out what could be inside .... but there they were, my Uncle's medals They were worth the wait. Thank you all again. Heather
Where would one apply for the medals ? Please excuse my ignorance I find military a little confusing. Are these the original medals the soldiers had or are they replicated ?
Hi, Details of the Army Medal Office are at the bottom of Post 5 above. You need to apply there. I don’t really understand your second query. These medals are being issued for the first time to relatives of the deceased service personnel as the entitled persons never applied for their Campaign Medals in their lifetime.The Campaign Medals issued now are the same as the now deceased soldier/sailor/airman or woman would’ve received had he or she applied in his lifetime. Unlike post WW1 when Campaign Medals were automatically issued to other ranks (officers had to apply) WW2 service personnel had to apply for their medals - an application form was available in Post Offices in the late 1940’s. I doubt that the original stock of medals struck in the late 1940’s are still available so current issue medals are newly struck but are identical (not replicas) to the original stock. Steve
thanks tullybrone I wasn't sure if the medals where the ones that would have gone to the soldiers in 1940 or if they would be newly struck but you answered my question perfectly. I have visited the website and according to the info on the site I don't have power of attorney there is no one left now ie : next on kin other than me my son and daughter that I know of. the soldier in question was my great uncle does this still make me eligible for the medals would I be next of kin ?
Would suggest you give them a call, explain your circumstances and ask their advise, they are nice people - well I have always found them so. Contact details are at the bottom of this link - Medals: campaigns, descriptions and eligibility TD