British & Commonwealth Military Badge Forum - Fake WW2 medal help please

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British & Commonwealth Military Badge Forum (https://www.britishbadgeforum.com/forums/index.php)

- Reproductions, Restrikes, Fakes, Forgeries, and Copies (https://www.britishbadgeforum.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=10)

- - Fake WW2 medal help please (https://www.britishbadgeforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=83090)

Buzz	04-02-21 04:37 PM

Fake WW2 medal help please

Hi, I'm new to this forum but looking for some help please. I apologise if I am vague with details but I am sure that you will understand why until I have resolved this matter. I was browsing the internet earlier today with regards to my wife's uncle who was killed in ww2 and who at the moment shall remain nameless. I was amazed to see that in November last year his war medals and some related documentation came up for sale at an auction house in England. They were sold. Further investigation revealed that they have since been sold on again on an online auction site. All well and good except for the fact we have his war medals and related documentation in the family and have had them since or not long after his death. My question is what is my best course of action now?
Many thanks in advance.

Wooffy

05-02-21 01:34 AM

Think I would start with Trading Standards and/or the local Police - Good luck in your quest to get this resolved.

arrestingu

05-02-21 02:04 AM

...are the items still in the family ? Or have they been sold on ....
Before jumping in may be worth confirming .
Secondly is paperwork the same ?
Has this been copied or has someone got some original documents and added unnamed medals ?
...hard to prove if they are unnamed .

Buzz	05-02-21 07:36 AM

Yes items are still in the family. The medals are framed on my mother in laws wall. The paperwork on the fakes differs in that notably the medal box is addressed to the father of the deceased at an address that exists but has never been lived in by the recipient or any members of the family. There are other differences in the paperwork too. The accompanying slip on the fakes is from the Secretary of the Admiralty with the name of the recipient typed whereas the original is from the Minister for Transport with the name of the recipient handwritten. Should add that the deceased was a merchant seaman.
Thanks for the replies.

Royal

05-02-21 08:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by arrestingu (Post 537597)

...hard to prove if they are unnamed .

Which UK WWII campaign medals should be...

yorkstone

05-02-21 11:24 PM

Buzz
does the family have original medal box in its possession still?

I have in my spares box multiple Of all ww2 standard Stars Bars including Air Crew Europe star plus war and defence medals awards and bars with the exception of Battle of Britain clasp (I wish)

With the original box it would be simple to put together generic Ww2 documents easily available I have plenty and many on here have rather same and Add a Faked medal slip they have been around for years and some are really good fakes.

It’s easy to see how this can happen

Sorry for your frustration it must hurt

Regards

Stephen

CB101

06-02-21 08:21 AM

Could it by any chance be something simple like two casualties who both had the same name?

Be worth looking at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission site and checking that possibly out

Alex Rice

06-02-21 10:07 AM

The practice of putting together fake groups of medals which are excellent groups is disgusting. The British Medals Forum might be able to assist with the way forward or possibly you could also get advice from auction houses such as Dix Noonan Webb for advice.
Cheers,
Alex

magpie

06-02-21 01:40 PM

Putting photo copied documents to groups of unnamed Medals has been done for years, someone at a venue I used to go to 25 years ago always had folders of interesting photo copies to go with what should have been then a £10-15 group for well over a £100.

altcar73

06-02-21 02:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Buzz (Post 537532)

Hi, I'm new to this forum but looking for some help please. I apologise if I am vague with details but I am sure that you will understand why until I have resolved this matter. I was browsing the internet earlier today with regards to my wife's great uncle who was killed in ww2 and who at the moment shall remain nameless. I was amazed to see that in November last year his war medals and some related documentation came up for sale at an auction house in England. They were sold. Further investigation revealed that they have since been sold on again on an online auction site. All well and good except for the fact we have his war medals and related documentation in the family and have had them since or not long after his death. My question is what is my best course of action now?
Many thanks in advance.

If there are any offences disclosed, it would be for the person who parted with cash and who bought the (dodgy?) medals to make the complaint. If anyone was duped it was that person. Not you. Ideally, you need to make contact with that person, if you can track him down. He should then take his complaint to the appropriate trading standards dept. I would not even attempt to get the police involved. They would simply point you (or him) in the direction of trading standards.

Dave.

MarkGD

06-02-21 02:11 PM

As alluded to earlier in the thread, the British Medals Forum may be able to offer further advice. Regards Mark

mm1	06-02-21 02:24 PM

medals

Hi,

I don't think you have any course of action unfortunately. Unless there was a named medal with the group, it is very easy to put a world war 2 group together. You can buy any original ww2 medals,obtain a repro medal box with repro labels, filled in with any name and address, repro medal confirmation or original slip and anything els you might need to form a group.The previous sellers may be ignorant of the fact that they sold a put together group and so you would be unable to take any action.
Even if there was a named medal with them, it could be a replacement so again you would be stuck..

Mark

leigh kitchen

06-02-21 02:34 PM

Revealing the recipient's name on some forums online may help track down the purchaser of the duplicate group.
Some people's research into medals they own include not just a check of National Archives, Ancestry.co etc but a general search for the recipent's details online.
Divulging the identity online, offering information, not necessarily shouting "You own a fake group of medals" may encourage the owner of the duff grouping to break cover and make contact.

Buzz	06-02-21 04:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yorkstone (Post 537714)

Thanks Stephen. No we don't have the original medal box as far as I am aware.

Buzz	06-02-21 04:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by altcar73 (Post 537766)

Thanks Dave. Yes I have the name and address of the person who bought these items from the auction house. I haven't made contact yet. I have now spoken with the auction house who are going to contact this person regarding the circumstances. They are the going to get back to me with an update next week.

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