The Wakefield Medal Question

[Jibba Jabba]

I picked up a medal a while ago which came out of a box of badges I was shown.

I believe it to be one of those tribute medals which most towns and cities gave returned soldiers at the end of WW1.

What I need to know is if such a medal was manufactured and issued in 1919 in hallmarked silver and presented by then Colonel and MP of Wakefield E. A. Brotherton.

Does anyone on the forum know anyone from Wakefield that might be able to identify such a medal?

I apologise for such a specific question, its going to tale a true master of Yorkshire militaria to ID this one thats for sure!

Thank you chaps.

[Deejayuu]

Can you post images of the medal at all? E A Brotherton seems to be a very distinguished character, i have attached an extract below

Edward Allen Brotherton, 1st and last Baron Brotherton
, b. 1 April 1856, d. 21 October 1930

Edward Allen Brotherton, 1st and last Baron Brotherton was born on 1 April 1856 at Ardwick Green, England. He was the son of Theophilus Brotherton. He died on 21 October 1930 at age 74 at Kirkham Abbey, Malton, Yorkshire, England, unmarried. He was buried on 24 October 1930 at Lawnswood Cemetery, Leeds, Yorkshire, West Riding, England.
Edward Allen Brotherton, 1st and last Baron Brotherton was educated at Owens College, Manchester, Lancashire, England. He was a chemical manufacturer, including making high explosives during the First World War. He held the office of Mayor of Wakefield between 1902 and 1903. He held the office of Member of Parliament (M.P.) (Conservative) for Wakefield between 1902 and 1910. He held the office of Lord Mayor of Leeds between 1913 and 1914. In 1914 he raised the West Yorkshire Regiment at his own expense. He gained the rank of Honorary Colonel in the service of the 15th Service Battalion. He held the office of Member of Parliament (M.P.) (Conservative) for Wakefield between 1918 and 1922. He was created 1st Baronet Brotherton, of Wakefield, co. York [U.K.] on 27 June 1918. He was invested as a Fellow, Society of Antiquaries (F.S.A.). He was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Law (LL.D.) by Leeds University, Leeds, Yorkshire, West Riding, England. He was created 1st Baron Brotherton, of Wakefield, co. York [U.K.] on 17 June 1929.
On his death, his titles became extinct.

Not sure about raising the `West Yorkshire Regiment at his own expense`, probably means the 15th battalion. Edward Brotherton was a great driving force in Leeds and at the outset of the war. The Leeds pals (15th bn) "was raised and equipped in september 1914 by the generosity of the Lord Mayor of Leeds", estimated to be around £6000 in 1914 prices so a small fortune in todays money. The lord mayor at the time was Brotherton. All the officers commissioned in 1914 were issued with an un-marked silver Leeds pals badge, a total of 22 were issued. If you have a look in my West Yorks album you will see one of these. In 1919 Colonel Sir Edward Brotherton gave a dinner at Leeds town hall for surviving members of the 15th bn. With Brothertons connection with the Leeds pals it is a strong possibility that a commemorative medal was made for the survivors and presented during this dinner? Much of the above is extracted from Laurie Millers book on the Leeds pals. If you have the medal to hand and it has the Leeds budgies on it, look closely at them. The Budgies on the Leeds pals badge is very different in places from the standard budgies on the Leeds coat of arms. A picture would help greatly. Hope this is of some interest, cheers, Dave

[Jibba Jabba]

Wow 40 views on this thread already! Thank you for the reply Deejayvu, that information is very interesting thank you for posting......by the way, I dont really know what I have here. I'm just making lots of assumptions! The facts are that the hallmark is 1919 and the shield on the reverse is the old coat of arms of Wakefield.

Does this look right for the sort of thing given as a tribute medal? It should be very common in Wakefield as there must of been thousands of servicemen and women from there awarded this medal?

[Deejayuu]

Originally Posted by Jibba Jabba

Wow 40 views on this thread already! Thank you for the reply Deejayvu, that information is very interesting thank you for posting......by the way, I dont really know what I have here. I'm just making lots of assumptions! The facts are that the hallmark is 1919 and the shield on the reverse is the old coat of arms of Wakefield.

Does this look right for the sort of thing given as a tribute medal? It should be very common in Wakefield as there must of been thousands of servicemen and women from there awarded this medal?

This could well be a tribute medal but i do not think it is connected to the Leeds pals, it would have had a version of the Leeds coat of arms on it. Looking at the medal there is no real statement that the badge is military.
Cheers, Dave

[Jibba Jabba]

Thank you for the reply Dave. The only reason why I purchased it was because of the 1919 date, being that there is a chance it might be some how war related. It is very odd to go all the trouble of putting an inscription on the medal, having it enameled and then hallmarked.........then forgeting to mention what the medal is for

Thus far I've spent hours searching the Internet try to establish if there was a Wakefield tribute medal, no luck so far

[Neil Pearce]

Jibba

Edward Brotherton did have a medal designed and presented it, together with a small cash payment, to ex POW's. Must be it I reckon, although never seen one before.

I am not sure how this fits in with Wakefield specifically, and not sure if he did this for Leeds. Edward was certainly big news in Wakefield at the time, and Brothertons, even so to this day. Have a look at the Brotherton Esseco site

Cheers

Neil