WWI Medal Restoration

[racing girl]

Hi All
I'm lucky enough to have been given my husbands Gt Uncles medals from WWI and I'd like to get them cleaned up and refurbished if possible, but haven't got a clue where to start! I have the 1914/1915 Star, The British War Medal, The Victory Medal and his Royal Navy Long Service and Good Conduct Medal. The medals are in excellent condition, the ribbons are not so good and at some time they have been removed from the bar and put back on the wrong way round. Can anyone give me any advice on how to go about this, anywhere local to me that might be able to help? I'm in SE Michigan.

Appalling photo of the medals, I was taking a shot of something else and they just happened to be in the bottom of the frame! I'll try and submit a better one if anyone is interested.



Photo taken in 1911, Ernest William Palmer, aged 16, standing top left.



TIA

Brenda

[bdk]

I'm interested! We don't get much WW1 action around here so it is kind of refreshing.

I wonder if medals are like old coins in that a significant part of their value lies in the patina, and that polishing them would ruin their value?

[warbird1]

I'm interested too! Whatever you do, please DO NOT clean them yourselves. So many times, historic artifacts lose a lot of their value and appeal when owner's do more damage than good when trying to clean/restore/refurbish their own items. Definitely get an expert's opinion before you touch them. I don't know anything about restoring medals, but I'm sure someone from here will come along shortly and give you advice.

Our own forum member, Jack Cook, seems to be the "de facto" medals expert on this forum as of late.

Jack, care to comment?

[racing girl]

Oh Lord no, I won't be getting out the Brasso! I may be dumb but I ain't stoopid. The medals themselves are in really good condition and I don't want to mess with them in any way, the ribbons and the bar are my main concern, especially as the bar doesn't close and is pretty lethal if you pick them up wrong! And although the ribbons are caught well under the bar their ends are frayed, and I can't for the life of me figure out how they got turned around either, I can't see how you can get them out without damaging the bar (not that I'll be doing that!). I'll try and get some good shots and post them.

Brenda

[Old SAR pilot]

Since those are, I assume, UK medals, you might want to drop an email to these folks for advice on how to proceed:

http://www.honoursandawards.co.uk/

[racing girl]

Thanks for the link Bob, yes, they are UK medals. I'll also cross post on The Long Road site too, they have probably already had people asking the same question. I'd like to try and find someone local-ish if I can.

Better photos for those that are interested!



1914-1915 Star & British Medal - front



and back



Victory Medal & Naval Good Conduct Medal - front



and back



Ribbons, showing fraying and incorrect insertion into bar



I was also given his two photo albums of pictures taken between 1920 and 1925, mostly of ships and locations he visited and sent back to his wife. Sadly I had to leave one at my inlaws in England as I was completely out of room, but these two photos are from the one album I do have with me:





Now all I have to do is piece together his life after the war!

Brenda

[warbird1]

Wow, cool photos Brenda! Those medals are actually in pretty decent shape for being almost 100 years old! That would look good in a shadowbox, perhaps with a picture of your relative who received them. Just an idea.

Keep us updated on what you find out.

[racing girl]

Just got back in from our classic car club meet and I posed the same question to the gearheads! Got a superb reply that I hadn't considered.... there's a Royal Canadian Legion post about five miles away, I've even been there before for a social night. It was suggested I give them a call and ask their advice. The best ideas are usually the simplest!

I've considered the shadow box option, I've seen them at the craft stores before, I think that might be the best way to go when I can get the bar and ribbons fixed, plus find out more about his life to make a story or time line or something, it would be a great way to preserve the past.

Cheers

Brenda

[ffuries]

There are a few companies that us Military people use to have our ribbons and medals done for our dress uniforms. Some of them put new suspension ribbons on our medals. You might want to try and give one of them a call and ask if they can do for the older medals. Here's the link to company I use. You send them in to them and they re-hang them and send them back to you.

https://www.ultrathin.com/contact.htm

Mike in Florida
USAF Aircrew Life Support (Retired)
"Your Life Is Our Business"

[racing girl]

Hello Mike
Thanks very much for the link and also the pm you sent me. Sorry to have taken so long to reply, but I've been off the net for quite a while. I'll have a good look over there site and drop them a line.

Thanks again,
Brenda