Hi Just thought I would like to share this with you. I am in a long term, spasmodic e-mail correspondence with Tom Canning, ex 16/5 Lancers (amongst other units) and not unknown to some of you on this and other WW2 forums. Tom, now a resident of British Columbia, recently needed to replace his five WW2 medals and asked me to recommend a UK company that would do the job for a reasonable price. His last letter to me contained the paragraph “ The full set that I would need is £66.00 ($C128) which appears to be reasonable when one considers that the initial FREE set only cost five years of our lives !” Ron ps A few extra details here: BBC - WW2 People's War - An unlikely Post War meeting
Ron, would Her majesty's Govt not provide these? It just seems strange that the Govt would not step to help one of its vets obtain his medals!
Ron, would Her majesty's Govt not provide these? It just seems strange that the Govt would not step to help one of its vets obtain his medals! They are rather mean about this and only replace medals in strict circumstances:The Medal Office only issue replacement medals to service veterans or, if deceased, the member of the family who now holds the medals, under certain strict conditions where the loss is completely outside the individual’s control in such instances as burglary, street theft or house fire. Only World War II medals and those issued subsequently can be replaced, provided that the criteria described here are met. The Medal Office is unable to replace medals issued before World War II, such as First World War medals, under any circumstances. Should you wish to claim for replacement medals in these circumstances, you should please provide details of the incident (i.e. burglary, fire etc.) and submit supporting contemporary evidence from the time of loss, by way of a copy of a successful insurance claim, or a Police crime report, either/both of which should include reference to the loss of the medals. A crime reference number alone is not sufficient. A lost property report is also insufficient. If these criteria are met then the Medal Office can issue replacement medals, but please note that there will still be a charge for the medals. The Medal Office will also check official records to confirm that the medals requested had been awarded to you or your relative. In all other cases, you may wish to consider purchasing replica medals from a specialist medal company or reputable medal dealer. See the FAQ here: Ministry of Defence | Defence For... | Veterans | Medals | Medal FAQs Peter
This has got me thinking. We all know about Hancocks's association with making the VC but where are the other medals bashed out? I can find several dealers and replacement salesmen but nothing on a factory. There must be an industrial unit knocking out 'official' MCs, Africa Stars, etc. (No doubt in Birmingham somewhere). There was a Radio 4 programme a while back that covered military button makers, can't remember for the life of me whether they pressed medals too. Just seen Spink listed as a manufacturer, I knew they were major dealers, but are they the main provider of new stock too? Anyone got a link to a picture of a British 'medal factory'? Cheers, Adam.
I don't disagree with the government not issuing replacement medals as a general rule. I believe that if it can be proven that the medals were stolen of lost in a fire etc they can be replaced but to expect the government to replace all medals that people "lose" is inviting the less than scrupulous top start selling their's and claiming replacements. I have onlt one (GSM NI) but take great care of it.
Craftsmanex I would go along with your claim that the Government should not give medals out indiscriminately and want to make a federal case out of it - but I've "been there and done that" with two Gevernments - and would just as soon pay the seller his due stipend and be done with it..regarding your "looking" after your lone medal - bully for you and I would point out that mine were 60 odd years old and having moved many times from the U.K. - Ontario - Alberta - British Columbia - doesn't surprise me that they went walk about - as I usually wear only the miniatures for parades - functions etc Cheers
There must be an industrial unit knocking out 'official' MCs, Africa Stars, etc. (No doubt in Birmingham somewhere). There was a Radio 4 programme a while back that covered military button makers, can't remember for the life of me whether they pressed medals too. Adam. here is one that I know of (made some nice enamel badges for my car club) , not sure how many they make, there must be several manufacturers somewhere. Thomas Fattorini Ltd - Designer makers of Military Medals
Ron, Did you recommend a company? Steve W. Steve After doing a bit of GOOGLING I chose: Military Medals at the Collectors Centre Online as being a good starting place for Tom to get an idea of what was on offer. I can't speak as a customer but it appears to be a well run company and I think he could do a lot worse elsewhere Ron
here is one that I know of (made some nice enamel badges for my car club) , not sure how many they make, there must be several manufacturers somewhere. Thomas Fattorini Ltd - Designer makers of Military Medals Thanks Geoff, fascinates me to think that there's still a need for medals, official military pattern swords etc., and therefore people who earn their crust making 'em. Some of the work on there when you click on the big pictures (particularly the swords) is exquisite.
I got an excellent quality die-struck WW1 BWM a few years ago to replace one lost from a trio (did't seem right to use one named). Can't remember where I got it now but a few weeks later found this place just round the corner from me, almost. I've not used them yet but have seen recommendations elsewhere. They supply originals (when available), replicas and do mounting. Worcester Medals Site
I'm guessing from the apparently relatively small-scale nature of these suppliers that the sheer scale of demand in WW1 & 2 led to many appropriate 'light engineering' companies taking on the work as a sideline. That all important 'by appointment' seal still marking them out as proper suppliers. Something in my head was envisioning a large 'Poppy Factory' sort of concern, but apparently not. Thinking of just those death plaques from the first war, realistically it must have been a massive operation to churn out so many individually marked lumps of metal, the logistical scale hadn't really occurred to me before.
All - have been in touch with the Fattorini Company and their response from Greg Fattorini - informs me that they only deal with Governements and are not in the retail business - however they did recommend Worcester medal Co - which appears to be at least 15% more expensive than Ron's initial recommendation....so being of Scottish origin.....
