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| Medal Index Card of one of my relatives. |
I started thinking about this topic the other day when I caught a few minutes of one of these day time auction shows and on there, they were selling a collection of WW1 medals. These medals had no connection to the person who was selling them and it got me to thinking what a sad state of affairs that is. These medals represent the courage and sacrifice made by our generation of grandfathers and great grandfathers, and yet here they are, detached from anyone with a personal connection and being sold off to the bidder of the highest price.
Perhaps it’s a rather sentimental view to take, but it is
one I find quite difficult to understand. In the year in which we mark the
centenary of this life changing event, to think that so many medals have been
disregarded and have ended up in auction rooms or antique shops across the
country is quite a sad thought. I suppose for me, it’s because we as a family
take such pride in the medals earned by my grandfather and great grandfather, and
for the last few years they along with a picture of them both (only one in
uniform unfortunately) have taken pride of place on my Nan’s living room wall.
For me they are part of our family story – the fact my great grandfather is believed
to have arrived in Britain because he wanted to fight in the war and his native
Sweden being neutral, marking a changing point in the family history. I can’t
imagine them being given away or sold and would fight to keep them in the
family.
With this in mind, I got thinking about the fascinating project my fellow MA student Sue has begun, which uses the diaries her granddad kept during WW1 to offer a very personal insight into life during the conflict. The collection of memorabilia also includes medals, postcards and letters all of which are providing
her with some wonderful material on which to base blog posts and with which we,
as the interested audience, can engage. It is a really thought provoking way to
think about one of those periods of history we think of as familiar, by
emphasising the personal experience. The diaries were only discovered after his death, which in itself tells us something about what those diaries meant to him, but had they not been kept and treasured by Sue and her family, this valuable record would have been lost. And it's that idea that underpins my whole reason for writing this blog - the idea of giving away or disposing of something so valuable to a family story. Sue's project is a very personal one but it is also a very
publically relatable story and I for one am very keen to hear more of William John West Taylor’s story as it
unfolds.
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| Selection of one of my relatives medals. |
I’m sure that Sue’s project is driven by a desire to find
out more about the stories behind this amazing assortment of material and the
people involved, just as it is with many of us who embark on our own similar family
history projects. The genealogical revolution has really gripped the nation and
there is an inexhaustible desire to know more about our own individual’s family’s
past – so what it is that motivates some people to sell medals or memorabilia? Or
worse, too throw it away? And what has led to so much of this material being ‘family-less’?
I notice this is not just a predicament found in Britain, but remember vividly
passing a stall in Rome which was also selling medals and at the time commented,
how if I could have afforded too, I would have bought the medal, traced to whom
it was awarded and returned it to the family – they are only small items but
they represent so much and I think that is all too easily forgotten. However then on the other hand, I think well, if they were appreciated and valued by the family they'd never have been given up in the first place. There are also those soldiers who actually sold them, so I guess as with everything, there are many different ways to look at this.
What makes this worse, for me anyway, is that some people have
seen the commercial value in this and try to exploit the interest some of us
have in our family’s past. Not so long ago I was contacted by a medal dealer
who had acquired the medals of a distant relative of mine. He’d tracked this relative
through Ancestry and seen my relationship to him and contacted me to see if I would
be interested in buying these medals from him. I can only assume, others in a
similar position were also contacted, but what a thing! I mean not only has he
reduced this item to a meaningless commodity, but he was also willing to play
on the sentimentality of those of us with an interest in genealogy. Now I know
this is a livelihood for some people, but really? In my view these items are
invaluable and should be treasured by families as a reminder of the
contribution their ancestors made to two of the greatest conflicts in modern
history and at such a prominent time in the ceremonies of remembrance we should
really be remembering this.
Then again, as a final thought, perhaps those who were awarded the medals want them forgotten? I know in our case, those medals were hidden away in a tin for years, not displayed - perhaps that's what they both would have wanted? It's hard to say really isn't it - but to see them auctioned on the television just seemed disrespectful in some way.
To be taken to Sue’s blog please follow this link - http://fromshacklefordtothesomme.wordpress.com/
and she has also set up a Facebook page which can be found here https://www.facebook.com/shacklefordtothesomme?fref=ts.
Do take a look and keep an eye out for updates on this very interesting project
as it evolves.
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