Online databases
of particular interest to medal collectors
Probably the most interesting thing to
happen on the internet this year is Ancestry.co.uk
's digitisation (in association with the National Archives) of surviving
pension records of WW1 servicemen. Something that previously required a visit to
Kew, or the paid service of a researcher is now available at a much
lower cost online, see:
Search Military Records
( look for the "British Army WWI Pension Records 1914-1920 Release
One" link) .....some information on the man behind that trio at
last?
Can you find the boy destined to become that WW1
soldier ? was he the son of a doctor or a farm labourer? 1901 England Census
&
1901 Wales Census
Or was that 1882 Egypt campaign medal recipient in the 1881 England Census
?
The Ship
List passenger lists, shipwrecks, immigration etc.
Family Search run
by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Free database.
Medals and Medal Forums
Medals UK Detailed study of British Orders,
Decorations and Medals WW1 to date.
Purple Heart History Excellent site on this famous US decoration with
much information on the naming and dating of American medals.
Academics and historians have always used battlefield visits
to reinforce their understanding of wars, but battlefield tours
by the general public really began after the First World War.
Large numbers of bereaved relatives wanted to visit the graves,
memorials and battlefields of their loved ones - primarily
France and Belgium - and did so as independent travellers. Help
was provided by the Michelin company who produced detailed
itineraries free of charge for the traveller, and printed a 14
volume series of "The Michelin Illustrated Guides to the
Battlefields (1914- 1918)".
As time passed visitor numbers declined
until we reach the 1980's when a resurgence of interest in the First
World War and other military conflicts began. Increased
interest is being driven by many factors; genealogical research, the
release of WW1 document archives into the public domain, the
internet, medal collectors, and the stream of Hollywood war movie
blockbusters i.e. "Saving Private Ryan" to name a few. The
Battlefield Tour market is now large, professional and well
established and caters for all tastes and interests. All the major
conflicts are covered - some by large companies with hundreds of
tours - and some by niche operators specializing in a single
battlefield.
Above; a Michelin battlefield guide from
the 1920's
Many medal collectors concentrate on a regiment, a
surname, or maybe men from their local area; another popular option is
to collect material relating to a particular war or campaign, WW1 and
the Anglo Boer war being popular examples. On this page are links to web
resources covering small wars and campaigns.
Much material from the two world wars remains buried
around the UK and lying on the surrounding sea bed. It is a regular
occurrence for fishing trawlers to land bits of WW2 (mainly German)
aircraft here on the coast of Northumberland. Many of these
artefacts now reside in the Armstrong Museum of Bamburgh Castle in
North Northumberland. While trekking locally in the Cheviot Hills not
too long ago I came across the wreckage of Avro Lancaster
KB745* (Crashed 4/10/1944) on the side of the Cheviot hill itself.
This is one of many WW2 aircraft both German and British whose
wreckage can still be seen today on this range of hills. If this
volume of material still survives in this quiet
backwater well away from the war fronts, then one can imagine the
quantity that resides in places like Flanders. In such places modern
development (road making, housing developments - whatever) often
uncovers not only the artefacts of war but also the remains of those
who died. This is were professional battlefield archaeologists can
gather the information presented for posterity.
Unfortunately, from the Crimea to the Somme there is also an
increasing band of amateur collectors/diggers who seem hell-bent on
destroying these sensitive sites. Many countries thankfully have
now made such activities illegal.
*please note it is illegal to remove any of this material: refer to
the British Aviation Archaeological Council below.
National Army Museum Finding the Fallen - Unearthing the past,
WW1 battlefield Archaeology.
The vast flow of printed material on the Great War has continued
unabated since before the war ended. This flow has now been
complemented by an ever increasing number of websites on the
subject. Listed below are some of the best of this cyber publishing.
The World still churns today with the after effects and
imbalances caused by the Second World War. Online material on WW2 is
now vast, and many veterans will have had a direct input into these
online resources. The biggest online record of people's experiences
in War time has been recently built by the BBC see "The BBC:
People's War" below.
Medal Tracking Sites (Missing
medal / memorial plaque finders).
Many groups of medals end up "broken" - that is split up and
separated. Collectors often have a pair or a single medal in their
collection that they know was once part of a larger group. The most
frequently encountered broken groups are the WW1 medals which were
primarily issued in pairs or triples (trios) WW1
Memorial Plaques were also sent to the next of kin of those
killed - these also frequently end up separated from the medals over
the years. Listed here are the websites that offer online
advertising to help try and locate that missing item.
