Strange old man dressed in WW1 army gear / dog named lobster

[sejintenej]

There had been some missing details of my service and only last year 2018 did I finally receive my service medal with King George on it. I had joined as a Portsmouth rating and transferred to Devonport during my service days Googling PMX739377 will find me.OR DJX739377 that's where the records got mixed up!......

Trying to find my father's WW I record I found it very confusing. Not only was he awarded Merchant Marine medals but also those befitting someone in the trenches. In the end I was able to dismiss the trench medals and follow his service on HMS / RMS Medina. Two sets of letters? She was the Royal Yacht taking the King to India for a Durbar and then became commercial UK - India. Torpedoed and sunk 1917 off Devon. Terrible trouble trying to trace and obtain his wartime and even civilian awards which I had not known about. ..Took about 20 years to get his MBE from WWII. Very strange. His widow disposed of them and they were auctioned in New York, came back to London where they were auctioned again. And then again but did not sell. Purely by luck I found out and bought them.

[loringa]

Trying to find my father's WW I record I found it very confusing. Not only was he awarded Merchant Marine medals but also those befitting someone in the trenches. In the end I was able to dismiss the trenches medals and follow his service on HMS / RMS Medina. Two sets of letters? She was the Royal Yacht taking the King to India for a Durbar and then became commercial UK - India. Torpedoed and sunk 1917 off Devon. Terrible trouble trying to trace and obtain his wartime and even civilian awards which I had not known about. ..

The basic medals awarded to members of the armed forces on active service and those of the merchant marine were the same: the British War Medal (BWM) and the Victory Medal, the Squeak and Wilfred of the Pip, Squeak and Wilfred triumvirate. The Pip was the 1914 or 1914 / 15 Star, only awarded to those who saw active service from 5 August 1914 and 31 December 1915. Your father may, however, been eligible for the Mercantile Marine War Medal 1914 to 1918 in addition to the BWM and Victory Medal. I don't know if one could be eligible for both the 1914 /15 Star and the Mercantile Marine War Medal but that may well be the case. The following IWM link may be helpful: https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/first-wo ... ice-medals

[sejintenej]

The basic medals awarded to members of the armed forces on active service and those of the merchant marine were the same: the British War Medal (BWM) and the Victory Medal, the Squeak and Wilfred of the Pip, Squeak and Wilfred triumvirate. The Pip was the 1914 or 1914 / 15 Star, only awarded to those who saw active service from 5 August 1914 and 31 December 1915. Your father may, however, been eligible for the Mercantile Marine War Medal 1914 to 1918 in addition to the BWM and Victory Medal. I don't know if one could be eligible for both the 1914 /15 Star and the Mercantile Marine War Medal but that may well be the case. The following IWM link may be helpful: https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/first-wo ... ice-medals

Thanks Andrew. It was the 1914/1915 Star and one other which was being sold with the Mercantile Marine and war medals. When I eventually got them it was the two WWI marine ones plus WWII victory medal, MBE, Society of St John of Jerusalem Serving member and a few others. I also discovered that my brother died over Germany - no medals there.

[loringa]

The basic medals awarded to members of the armed forces on active service and those of the merchant marine were the same: the British War Medal (BWM) and the Victory Medal, the Squeak and Wilfred of the Pip, Squeak and Wilfred triumvirate. The Pip was the 1914 or 1914 / 15 Star, only awarded to those who saw active service from 5 August 1914 and 31 December 1915. Your father may, however, been eligible for the Mercantile Marine War Medal 1914 to 1918 in addition to the BWM and Victory Medal. I don't know if one could be eligible for both the 1914 /15 Star and the Mercantile Marine War Medal but that may well be the case.

David, I owe you an apology - the Victory Medal was only awarded to members of the Armed Forces and not to merchant mariners who qualified for the Mercantile Marine War Medal and the BWM only. Personnel who transferred between the Armed Forces and the Merchant Navy could, however, qualify for both, and also the 1914 or 1914 / 15 star where appropriate, which is presumably the situation with your father though Naval Personnel serving on board merchant ships as DEMS (Defensively Equipped Merchant Ship) gunners could also qualify for the Mercantile Marine War Medal.

[J.R.]

We are going OFF TOPIC.

I suggest a new topic on MEDALS

[loringa]

We are going OFF TOPIC.

... and that matters?

[sejintenej]

The basic medals awarded to members of the armed forces on active service and those of the merchant marine were the same: the British War Medal (BWM) and the Victory Medal, the Squeak and Wilfred of the Pip, Squeak and Wilfred triumvirate. The Pip was the 1914 or 1914 / 15 Star, only awarded to those who saw active service from 5 August 1914 and 31 December 1915. Your father may, however, been eligible for the Mercantile Marine War Medal 1914 to 1918 in addition to the BWM and Victory Medal. I don't know if one could be eligible for both the 1914 /15 Star and the Mercantile Marine War Medal but that may well be the case.

David, I owe you an apology - the Victory Medal was only awarded to members of the Armed Forces and not to merchant mariners who qualified for the Mercantile Marine War Medal and the BWM only.

https://www.mortonandeden.com/wp-conten ... /02/56.pdf lot 237. this includes 1914-1915 Star (erased) and Victory Medal (erased) whereas my father never served in the forces on land, The posted citation is abbreviated. My brother died over Germany a few months later

I missed this auction but got them (without those two) many years later.

As for the name I was later adopted (twice) but always kept aware of my blood parents and have contact with his other relatives.

[donaldfay]

He had a sister who married a German (I think) and spent the war in Germany. He had a nephew born about 1935

Surname Pfeffer maybe

Don

[donaldfay]

Back to "Uncle" (CFK)

Mr Rider's recommendation that Kirby should get MBE is available on The National Archives website.

Uncle's sister's marriage to Karl Pfeffer can be found on Ancestry website.

(Foolish) Fay

[MrEd]

Amazing.! A man of many parts and from another era. Do you remember the huge picture of a cow defecating on the wall of his lab? It was there for years. The picture I mean - not the cow.

When he was long retired, c. 1980 and had his lab at the back of the New Science School with his bees, allotment, pressure cooker with 'hanging' pheasants, terrines and mead. There were two posters still there, one for the nitrogen cycle and the other for the carbon cycle.