The true cost of replacing medals

[Ron Goldstein]

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^th 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

[Gotthard Heinrici]

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!

[PeterG]

Originally Posted by Gotthard Heinrici

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

[von Poop]

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.

[craftsmanx]

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.

[Tom Canning]

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

[GPRegt]

[quote=Ron Goldstein;137970]
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.
/quote]

Ron,

Did you recommend a company?

Steve W.

[geoff501]

Originally Posted by von Poop

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 Goldstein]

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

[von Poop]

Originally Posted by geoff501

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.