Hello all, As per the thread that has been running below can anyone tell me what medals this man would have been entitled to after being captured in 1940 and held in a POW camp in Poland until liberation? Many thanks Skip Previous posts start here: Can anyone help me find the army number of my great uncle? He was Richard (known as Dick) SAVAGE. Born in 1908 he served with the Royal Army Service Corps until captured at St Valery after which he was a POW in German camps. I have an embroider of an RASC cap badge that he made in one such camp as I believe was common practice. Apart from that all I know is that he was on the march westwards near the end of the war to get away from the advancing Russians. If I can find his service number I can apply for his service record and look up which camps he was in which will be a great step forward. Any help gratefully appreciated. Cheers, Skip
Hi Skip - I would recommend applying for his service records (You don't need his service number to do that). Whilst you are waiting for those you could also visit the National Archives if you can and look to see if he filled in a PoW questionnaire when he was liberated. Cheers Andy
Cheers Drew - as ever i'm deployed abroad so getting to Kew will have to wait. Didnt know I could apply under an FOI for his service record without his number so cheers for that. Will give it a go. Thanks for the help again, Skip
Hello all, I need a bit of medal help ... I am still waiting for my Great Uncle's service record to arrive. Meanwhile I am mounting the whole family's medals from various wars and would like to add his. He joined the RASC at the start of WW2 and was taken prisoner at St Valery in 1940 remaining in POW camps until liberated. Could anyone tell please me what medal entitlement would he have from this period? I'm attaching a photo of him. Unfortunately, it is undated and I can not tell if it is pre or post war with my limited medal knowledge. They ribbons do not match the ones I thought he would have. Any help greatly appreciated. Also was there any significance to the lanyard he is wearing? All the best Skip
The picture would be post war if he was captured in 1940-Not sure what the first medal is but the second looks like the NWE Star. I'm not that good on medal entitlements so hopefully someone else wll answer that one for you.
Cheers Drew - The photo does look post-war to my uneducated eye but then I'm guessing if he had joined the army at the start of the war then on liberation he would have been entitled to the 1939-45 Star and the British War Medal. Thing is, to me, the medal ribbon on the right does not look like the BWM.
Could an administrator please re-title this with the words 'Medal help needed' and maybe put it with the service record threads? If so I'm sure that lots of people would be able to answer the question on medals. Many thanks
Hi Skip, I have just looked at Ancestry's UK, British Army Prisoners of War, 1939-1945 database, and found: Name:R. G. Savage Rank:Private Army Number:127025 Regiment:Royal Army Service Corps POW Number:14934 Camp Type:Stalag Camp Number:XX-B Camp Location:Malbork, Poland Record Office:Royal Army Service Corps Record Office, Ore Place, Hastings, Sussex Record Office Number:29 This is the only PoW record for a member of the RASC with the initials R (G) Savage. Don't know if this helps any with sourcing information.
Could an administrator please re-title this with the words 'Medal help needed' and maybe put it with the service record threads? If so I'm sure that lots of people would be able to answer the question on medals. Many thanks Click Edit and Then click Go Advanced in your first post to re-title a thread.
BFBSM - thanks very much indeed. That really helps as it must be him. It also ties in with what my father remembers, i.e. that towards the end of the war he was marched westwards away from the advancing Russians. I really appreciate that so cheers.
A Friends dad, captured as well in 1940, received 2 medals post war, the 1939-45 star and the War Medal. Hope that helps
Thanks Ramacal. That's what I guess he was entitled to and your post backs this up. If a medal expert can confirm it from the photo I have posted it would be great as I'll get on and order the replacements for the wall. Cheers
Skip, the Medal Office can tell you exactly what he was awarded. It took about 2 months for me to get a response, which included my Grandfather's actual medals as he never claimed them (many didn't, too busy trying to survive post war). My GF was POW from May 30, 1940 - Jan 1945 and received the 1939-45 Star and War Medal. I knew he hadn't claimed them so I just filed for them. I did not call them or email them, maybe a phone call would give you specifics of what he was awarded, not sure but worth a try. Numbers are on the web page at the below link. - WW2 Medal Inquiries If your relative didn't claim their Medals, you can apply for them at the VeteransUK website. Many Servicemen did not claim their Medals, finding a job and a place to live was a priority at the time. The application form is at the very bottom of the page. Claiming for campaign medals Wayne
Wayne - thanks very much for all that. I will get onto the Medal Office but it very much sounds like he would have been entitled to the same, i.e. 39-45 Star and BWM. Much appreciated, Skip
The picture definately has him with the wrong ribbon up. the Pair (1939-45 star & 39-45 war medal) would definaetly be his only entittlement ( if 1940 pow). The image depicted appears to have the France & Germany star up next to 39-45 star. To have received that later he would have had to have been on operational strength from D day onwards. It needs to be remembered that the 39-45 War Medal was instituted a couple of years after war ended so by not having it up, you can date the photo to pre 1948. Hope this helps Regards Simon
Simon - thanks very much for this. Very helpful. I hope that receiving his service record will clear up the whole story - I'm going off family legend that he was captured at St Valery in 1940 and you know how stories get twisted over the years so we will see in full time. Cheers for the help. Skip
Hi Skip Just been doing some research on my grandfather and it looks like we might well be researching the same person? Richard George Savage, born 1910 in Croydon Surrey, died 1966 in Chichester, West Sussex. He was a member of the RASC and was captured and held as a POW at Stalag XX-B. Here's the only photo I have of him and also a link for a POW website where I have found names and letters of others who were at the same camp. I have added him to the list with the same photo. Stalag XXB Marienburg in the Second World War 1939-1945 - The Wartime Memories Project -
