My Grandfather’s Medals

['Ticker' Riley]

Whilst I realise this is The British & Commonwealth Military Badge Forum, I thought fellow members might still find the following personal story of interest:

During the Great War my grandfather, on my Dad’s side, served in the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry – how a fella from Birmingham ended up in the D.C.L.I. I don’t know, but I’m assuming he was conscripted and so was just sent to whichever regiment needed men at the time. Anyhow, although I have searched in vain for the service record of 32012 Pte Henry William Riley, like those of so many others, his record appears to have been one of the ones destroyed in the Blitz of the Second War, I do know that he was in the 6th Battalion (3rd Corps, 8 Co.). In 1992 Major White at the D.C.L.I. Regimental Museum in Bodmin kindly offered an outline of his possible service, including the fact that, going by his regimental number, he seems to have been enlisted around August 1916. Major White thought he might well have been sent out to France in late September of that year to reinforce the 6th Battalion, following losses it sustained on the Somme. I know that my grandfather was definitely at Arras for the fighting there in 1917, as the family received a postcard with “Arras” written on it in tiny writing in one corner. I am also led to believe that at some point he was gassed, and returned to England for treatment at the 1st Southern General Hospital, which had been set up in the buildings of Birmingham University in Edgbaston at that time. He was apparently in hospital when the Armistice was signed in 1918, but eventually went back and, I was told, served in ‘the watch on the Rhine’. Sadly, at some point he contracted ‘sleepy-sickness’ (encephalitis lethargic), perhaps because of him being weakened by the gassing, something that would eventually lead to him losing his post-war job with Birmingham Corporation and to haim taking his own life as a result.

Anyway, for many years following his death, my grandfather’s medals were kept in the family home in Bournbrook, Birmingham – I believe they were merely tucked away in a sideboard drawer. That is until after the death of my Dad’s stepfather in 1981, when my Dad went to retrieve them as he was clearing the house. It was then that it was discovered they had gone missing. What happened to them I honestly do not know – had they been sold, given away or stolen? Whatever happened doesn’t really matter, because at the end of the day they had gone and that, I thought, was the end of things. Having said that, I always half-hoped that one day they would turn up somewhere and I might have the chance to reclaim them. This then brings us to now, or rather the other weekend in fact, when late on a Sunday night I happened to search a well-known internet auction site, only to be amazed to see my grandfather’s Victory Medal appear! Overcome with excitement, I sent a message to the seller explaining who I was and that they had one of my grandfather’s medals. The answer I received was beyond my expectations, for the seller promptly sent me the medal free of charge!

As you can imagine, I am absolutely over the moon at having my grandfather’s Victory Medal back in the family, and can’t thank the seller enough for their kindness in sending it to me. Obviously, my hope now is that somehow his War Medal will also come to light, hence in part why I am posting the story up here. I know that some Forum members also collect medals, so would ask, if they happen to have any D.C.L.I. War Medals, to please check to see if any say “32012 Pte H. W. Riley D. of Corn. L. I.” on them? Similarly, maybe some members who know more about such things than me could perhaps look to see if there is any record of my grandfather’s War Medal being sold anywhere, or maybe next time they are looking through a dealer’s stock they could bear things in mind? The gentleman who sent me the Victory Medal said it was part of a mixed lot of medals that were bought from an auction down in Cornwall, but that the War Medal didn’t seem to be with it. I’m assuming the pair were split up at some time, and it would be all my Christmasses come together if I could reunite them – here’s hoping that won’t take another thirty years!!

Best regards

Martin

P.S. My Forum pseudonym of ‘Ticker’ Riley is actually my grandfather’s nickname. Apparently he was fascinated by how clocks and watches worked, and so would take them apart and try to put them back together. I chose it because, back in 2008/2009, I was looking to get a D.C.L.I. cap badge as it was the regiment in which he served, and so it seemed appropriate to use his nickname.