Question re medals ***Prob a daft question but I'm going to ask anyway***

I have three medals from 2 different service men, foolishly I assumed that medals were standard and that it would have been one service medal for each period in time, I realise different arenas had their own medal but assumed a service medal was a service medal, however this obviously isnt the case.

So I have:

A medal dated 1939-1945 with a Lion standing on a bird like creature (technical I know Haha) with George VI

The Defence Medal 1939-1945 again with George VI

The last is An Imperial Service Medal that has Queen Elizabeth on.

I take it the latter was issused many years after the war ended?? Would this be correct?

What is the difference between these medals?

I was also given a copy of the 1st soilders notebook which detailed where he was stationed, how many rounds he fired, who he met and how many days he travelled - makes an interesting read.

Please help ease my confusion.

Regards

Jo

 

Ok so I now realise it was a very daft question and I was completely confused. Egg on my face :-( The Imperial Service isn't a war medal - hence why it is different !!

Oh well least I know now hahahaha.

 

Thanks Owen, that was far easier to understand than all the waffle on wikipedia!!

Have saved to favourites for further use, to save silly questions.

 

I don't think any question is silly, I have wondered about medals myself and one doesn't find out if one doesn't ask.

Mark

 

Hi Jo,
I have my Grandfathers Imperial Service Medal, awarded for long service in the Post Office (after 12 years WW1 RN). The medal should have the owners name engraved on the edge. Unless the name is a very common one you can usually find a notice for the award in the London Gazette quite easily. This would explain why it was awarded.
The Soldier's 'notebook' sounds interesting could you post a scan?
Do you know the names of the servicemen involved?

 

Owen & Mark, you are both too kind.

Mike - I believe that Geoff too worked for the post office - I also have the certificate that came with it but it makes no mention as to why.

Thank you for the tip re name on the edge, I had completely missed that.

With regards to the notebook I'll try, however most is written in pencil so I am not sure how successful it will be.

Pte. S.T Mears 1776556 - Notebook states he joined I.T.C (I think) Carlisle 6/10/1943 border reg

then in 11/1943 he went to maidstone with RWK. Joined 7 batt RWK in Jan 1944.

The other is my husband Grandfather

Geoffery Robert Crabb who I believe was a sgt the Royal Artillery ??

 

Jo,
Wiki link for ISM:
Imperial Service Order - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
I have a few quetions about the 25 or 16 year service bit though - from what I can work out my Grandfather couldn't have completed 16 years when the award was announced. I have the date of his discharge from RN and date of ISM award. Haven't found the answer to that one yet!

Also see London Gazette Issue 34696 (29th Sept 1939) page 22:
Viewing Page 6590 of Issue 34696
Geoffrey Robert Crabb is mentioned. If you go to the previous page you will see he was indeed a London Post Office employee.

Edit: Just realised you mentioned the ISM was a QE2 medal - that doesen't match with the 1939 date from London Gazette, any ideas?

 

Thx Mike.

Well no not really he was only born in 1912???? Everywhere I look I'm confronted with more confusion!???

Oh well tomorrows another day, I'll try and make sense of it then.

 

Just a thought Jo,
Check the name on the edge of the ISM - you might find it is for a different relative!

 

Thank you for the tip re name on the edge, I had completely missed that.

With regards to the notebook I'll try, however most is written in pencil so I am not sure how successful it will be.

Pte. S.T Mears 1776556 - Notebook states he joined I.T.C (I think) Carlisle 6/10/1943 border reg

then in 11/1943 he went to maidstone with RWK. Joined 7 batt RWK in Jan 1944.

The other is my husband Grandfather

Geoffery Robert Crabb who I believe was a sgt the Royal Artillery ??

Hi, again,

I.T.C. stands for Infantry Training Centre.

Scanning the pencil should work OK, I have scanned a few pencil written documents, and with a bit of fiddling with settings got them to come out quite well. Including transcript of sections one thinks are unclear always helps too.

Have you applied for both sets of Service records: service records sar form requests, as you are not the next of kin, and if they veterans concerned are deceased, they need to have passed 25+ years ago to be able to get them. If the NOK is alive, maybe they could apply for you, as then there would be no charge.

One can also get copies of the unit war diaries also which may help with finding out what people were up to. There is not often mention of specific servicemen in the diaries, but sometimes names do pop up, also with a great deal of information. The diaries are kept at The National Archives in Kew, and if you are unable to attend yourself, there are members here who could obtain copies at a very reasonable price.

It is an interesting area of research you are getting into, and all here will, wherever possible help in whatever way we can.

Mark