British group in a box

[KatManDude]

hello....just want to share a neat group that I just picked up....fantastic price and I could not pass.....I just started venturing into British medals a few years ago, I like the way they look and what I am really after are the ones from the Boer War and earlier....I'm sure my cousins across the pond see these all the time but it was neat to have them in one box

front
pics...

back


inside


group


seem to be missing one ...paper says 4

[reneblacky]

Nice set there. Here's the Australian counterpart for comparison.

[KatManDude]

My first look at an Australian version …I like it !....now I need one....

[BodhiEtheridge]

Very nice set, I picked a handful of these up when I was in England they remain some of my favorite items.

[reneblacky]

My first look at an Australian version …I like it !....now I need one....

Are yours named? Interesting too that the return address is to the RN, mine just has an Army stamp on it and no return address.

[Watchdog]

Are yours named? Interesting too that the return address is to the RN, mine just has an Army stamp on it and no return address.

Hi Rene,

I can answer that for you. Unlike WWI and earlier plus post-war medals none of the WWII British campaign medals are named unlike those to some Commonwealth service personnel which is a great shame although it does make completing a documented group easier (can play havoc with provenance though).
The Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force both had separate medal offices ( I think it might be a tri-service affair now based on the Army Medal Office in Droitwich) and as a matter of interest that address in Bath was still an MOD site until a few years back when like so many others it was sold off to property developers for housing. I live just an hour from there and sometimes pass it when out for a motorcycle ride of the Somerset area

Regards

Mark

[Watchdog]

hello....just want to share a neat group that I just picked up....fantastic price and I could not pass.....I just started venturing into British medals a few years ago, I like the way they look and what I am really after are the ones from the Boer War and earlier....I'm sure my cousins across the pond see these all the time but it was neat to have them in one box, seem to be missing one ...paper says 4

You are quite right about the appearance of British and Commonweath medals. I don't say that because I am British or with any disrespect to other nations as the medals of each have their own characteristics and unique phaleristic qualities. There is just something indefinable (for me anyway) about these.
You are also correct that the WWII medals are not hard to find but they are becoming more scarce of course and are often single medals rather than groups when very few would have qualified for only one.
However, a set in the packet of issue is nice to have and does give some degree of provenance despite the lack of naming on the medals.
Sometimes the accompanying contents slip is marked with the actual medals in the group being "ticked" or "checked" but often due to the volume of output it is just the quantity box that is filled in.
Regarding the discrepancy between 4 marked on the slip and three medals in the box you are correct that there seems to be an award missing. However, I believe it likely that it is not a medal missing but a clasp. Given that the recipient was Royal Navy and has received the Burma Star it is an odds on bet that the entitlement to the Pacific Star would have been achieved also. This is the bit that most who don't specialise in Brit/Commonwealth medals don't realise is that when entitled to both you could only receive the first awarded medal and a clasp for the second award. So, Burma Star with Pacific clasp or vice versa.
The clasps are rather small bronze bars embossed with the relevant campaign designation. The medal, ribbon and clasp were all issued in separate envelopes with the clasp needing to be sewn to the ribbon. This has meant that the clasp is very often lost to time is as in many cases the now discharged serviceman never bothered to have the medals mounted.
A Google search of "British Burma Star with Pacific clasp" should indicate what I mean but I will post a pic of a genuine item later when I have time.

The clasps are now much harder to find than the medals but by no means impossible. They are however, very commonly faked/copied so you need to learn what a good one looks like as the most common ones are dreadful. A decent copy would average about £8.50 whilst an original is in the area of £40 (actually more than the medal). Personally I think an original is the only way to go if you want to complete the set properly but many vets have actually used copies to replace lost items when they have worn their medals at Remembrance Day parades so now copies appear semi-legitimately in veteran estates.

I hope this is of interest.

Regards

Mark

[Watchdog]

As promised here is a comparison shot;

The Burma Star on a ribbon displays a copy Pacific clasp with an original laid above it. This is not the worst but as can be seen in comparison to the original, whilst the overall configuration/representation is quite good the copy is too large in every dimension except the width which of course one would expect as if it were too wide or narrow that would be really obvious. The metal is also too thick and a little "brassy" however the the colour of the metal is not a 100% guarantee if the other details are correct. Another giveaway is that some copies have inaccurate and oversized holes.

The Pacific Star ribbon shows a genuine Burma clasp. Note that with this ribbon the dark blue stripe representing the Royal Navy the senior service should be worn to the viewers left whilst the light blue representing the Royal Air Force the junior service is to the viewers right.

In the case of both these stars when a clasp is entitled but only the ribbon is worn a silvered rosette is attached. Shown in this case on the Pacific ribbon. The silvering has worn on this example showing the base metal as brass. These are copied too usually in white base metal.



Regards

Mark

[KatManDude]

Watchdog.....thanks for the detail and input !....I can totally see the clasp slipping out into the shag carpet and being lost to time.... I know that with US WW1 Victory clasps can be tricky and are often faked on those as well.....and once again, I find that style of suspension that you see on the war medal and earlier British campaign medals quite attractive

[Anderson]

A delivery box used in New Zealand post WW2.