Hello all. In interviewing veterans, both formally and informally, I have been told on a number of occasions that an individual was identified as deserving of a formal citation however they opted for a more informal reward. I wondered if others had this experience and would be interested in veteran's thoughts. I am intrigued to get a handle on the balance of implied humility, avoidance of bureaucracy, contempt for medals and possibly the feeling that a bit of BS will enhance the story. I will use two examples: Dunkirk - a private, fed up with the air attacks, seeks out a Bren gun and lets loose at a low flying JU88 which is seen to be damaged and crashes. An officer from his unit witnesses this and says he is going to recommend him for an award. The soldier declines as he thinks the chances of them both surviving are slim and "others were blazing away too". The Officer says he could do without the paperwork anyway, produces a 10/- note and says to have a drink on him instead. (Interview with the private 1991) WRAF Sgt. Radar operator 1944 - team is stood down as 'atmospherics' interfering with the radar. As the team leader she stays at post through the night. Despite the poor reception on the screen, experience, expertice and 'hunch' leads her to suspect an intruder and she reports it. Raider is shot down. Recommended by her OC for an MiD she declines as she "was only doing her job" and that "the aircrew put their lives at risk every day". She accepts for payment for afternoon tea for the team at the local pub instead. (Chats with the WRAF Sgt. 1990s).
One of my Dad's accounts referred to a mate of his who, upon returning from being AWL, was made an offer by his Coy Commander which he was happy to take up. The officer had intended to put Dad's friend forward for a DCM; so it was cancelled in exchange for any possible charges relating to AWL. This stuck in Dad's memory because at the time Dad had been made DR which he'd rather enjoyed doing. But his friend had 'borrowed' his bike and taken off on it along with another Guardsman. As a result Dad was sent back to infantry duties. "C'est la guerre!"
One award I remember with good reason ..... http://ww2talk.com/forums/topic/20394-1264728-trooper-phillip-raymond-jefford-mm-4th-queens-own-hussars/ Ron
You could get promoted through performance. I don’t know if you got “offered a choice though” of either/or. Or indeed if promotion counted as “a more informal reward”, promotion might actually have been treasured more (a rise in pay, an increase in responsibility/command might have been better than a medal perhaps?). Though I did see that with some awards (?) there was also a one-off or indeed on going annual monetary reward. There’s always that sense too of a “higher up” being given an award for the “performance of the men under his command”, and I guess the “higher up” in question might have brought “all his lads” a pint or two to celebrate, or tried to be a bit more lenient with discipline for the sake of morale/as a form of reward (similar to but not the same as in post #2 above). This list attached below though is one of those things that really caught my eye and I don’t know if other regiments kept similar lists? But if there was a tendency towards an “avoidance of bureaucracy” and “contempt for medals “ in a particular regiment or chain of command it might perhaps be brought out by a comparison of such? You’d have to know quite a bit about the regiments concerned though and the personalities in them. So it might perhaps entail quite a bit of work. [sharedmedia=gallery:images:29398] A little while ago I was looking at the Stan Hollis thread and tried googling "Why was there only one VC for D-day" https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=Why+was+there+only+one+VC+for+D-day&oq=Why+was+there+only+one+VC+for+D-day+&aqs=chrome..69i57.8015j0j7&sourceid=chrome&es_sm=93&ie=UTF-8 Didn't find much to explain this, but I did find plenty about the effects of this one medal on his subsequent life: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tees-27680604 http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/forgotten-word-war-2-hero-3642181 "All he said by way of explanation was: “All these fellers were my mates.” Modest Stan later wrote in his short memoirs: “There wasn’t only me doing these things, there was other people doing things as well. "And the things that I did, if I hadn’t done them, somebody else would have.” Plus: "Stan’s biographer Mike Morgan says he was regularly challenged by men keen to prove their worth against a VC winner." It did make me wonder if he would have preferred a more informal "reward" "Son Brian says Stan received his VC with pride in 1945. But back in Middlesbrough, his determination to live a quiet life left him as one of the war’s lesser-known heroes" And you do hear plenty of stories of veterans after the war wanting to "send their medals" back, or of "having to sell them" which is equally sad. (Much to think about anyhow, so a fascinating thread) All the best, Rm.
