We had a visit set up before Covid which never happened due to lockdown, the chap who does militaria for the Antiques Roadshow was going to attend and give a talk. The plan was that he would bring some of his medal collection (he has an RAF VC) and give a talk, then he was going to do an antiques roadshow with any medals or old military kit the Cadets had brought from home. Gutted it never happened.
I personally love any rack that has a DFC, probably my favourite medal visually.
Wouldnât this depends on what is done outside of those services?
I knew several CFAVs who have a number of medals and bars die to previous time as a Regular and remain entitled to wear these as a CFAV
If weâre talking CFAV/RAFAC service only im guessing those few MBEs would be shortlisted as theyâll likely have CFM with a bar orbtwo notbto mention 2 or 3 jubilee medals and soon to be a CMâŚ
Iâm not sure what else CFAVs are eligible for bit would be pretty special out side of jubilee and CFM
There will be plenty of CFAV with medals from work, mainly emergency service LSGC ones. Maybe the odd MBE or BEM from within the organisation (we should have loads of them but donât).
You will then have a smaller group of former service personnel who unlike the staff when I was a Cadet will likely have OSMâs from Telic, Herrick or Shader. Amongst them we have to have a gallantry medal somewhere in the organisation.
I know of a now CI who was a regular service pilot who has a Queenâs Commendation for Bravery in the Air.
Awarded in peace time so worn on its own ribbon at the end of the medal rack.
Exactly my pointâŚ
But does that make it an impressive CFAV rack when the gongs were awarded not on CFAV service?
I suppose youâre right. For CFAVs, what would make it a CFAV rack is the award of the CFM in this case. That would then separate it from other regular or reserve personnel.
On the reserve side, itâs probably the same. Similar opportunities, but becomes a âCFAVâ rack once it has a CFAV gong on there.
Regulars and reservists will broadly be the same except for really short-burn op medals (and the regular long service medal vs reserve service medal). And I suppose the MSM vs QVRM (now KVRM).
So yeh, Iâm essentially wondering, with the addition of interesting long service medals from other organisations, foreign service medals that are authorised for wear, Victorian orders etc, if thereâs anything particularly unusual and rare out there, made more so by the addition of a CFM.
Thereâs a great BFBS podcast by the way. Itâs called âTea & Medalsâ.
Great theme tune, and they interview people who have earned gallantry medals etc. Amazing stories.
Then every now and then they interview their expert to talk about interesting subjects, like how VCs arenât in fact made from cannon balls, and the material was chosen so VC recipients wouldnât have valuable metal to sell off.
Well worth a listen.
Bit of a random one,
How do you check, is there a process to check that if someone is wearing a medal that they are/are not entitled to? Or is it trawl through the Gazette?
Only certain medals are gazetted. The only way I know is to check their JPA record, but usually with Walts it only takes a few questions about what each medal is for, what unit they served in, who with, etc.
Not necessarily, most Waltâs are bloaters so know enough to blah a conversation as long as they havenât done something stupid like thrown on a VC.
There was a VC on the antiques roadshow a couple of weeks ago as part of a rack of WW2 medals awarded to an Indian soldier. His family had always kept them. The VC alone was valued at ÂŁ250,000.
UN medals donât go on JPA, so imagine it could be a bit of work if you ever wanted a replacement or to prove entitlement.
I suppose theyâre not marked, so a replacement isnât a problem, but proving you earned it might.
I recall reading about a guy who was mudlarking on the Thames a long time ago and he found a VC in the mud.
Not a copy - a real VC. Engraved on the reverse of the suspension bar with the recipients details. Sadly, they werent released so i have no idea what became of the medal.
On YouTube, theres a âLook at Lifeâ episode called âThe Price of Gallantryâ which is quite an interesting insight into VCâs and some recipients who were still alive in 1964.
I canât find an example where the suspension bar was also found, but there is this medal found in 2015: The mystery of the Thames VC | National Army Museum
Sounds like the same one but the account i read stated that the suspension bar was attached to the cross. Clearly, either my memory is remiss (likely), the account was incorrect (possibly) or the account you give is correct (highly likely).
One of my mates has his Grandads DFC plus the presentation letter as he was in the Far East so couldnât collect it in person.
Iâd tear my left arm off to own a DFC.
Not got a spare ÂŁ9000 laying around?
Alternatively become a military pilot and perform âan act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying in active operations against the enemyâ
On the other hand, it might be easier to find 9k!
I have but its presently tied-up in land, bricks and mortar.
One dayâŚ