noyes44 Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 Two years ago I obtained my grandfathers medals from the MOD. He was a Sgt in WWII and was a fitter with the 91st (A&SH) A/tk Regt. He never claimed his medals after the war and died when I was young. They now hang in pride of place in my dining room. Sadly they've already started to oxidize (especially the stars). Does anyone know how it's best to get rid of this and stop it coming back? The picture shows my grandfather standing next to one of the batteries M10 Achilles. He's the guy standing on the left in the overalls. Robin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 Hi Noyes, Interesting and nice photo. I have in my reference that the 91st were Corps and Army troops equipped with Crusader gun tractors and towed 17 pdrs. They were disbanded in Jan 1945. As your grandad is wearing a pixie suit could the photo be early 45? He would then have been serving with another unit equipped with Achilles. AFV Club do a model of the Achilles and if you have more details you could build his vehicle. Kenny should be able to tell you how to clean medals without damaging them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenny Andrew Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 Hi Noyes, welcome to the forum, great picture as Dave says, Achilles were great vehicles As for polishing medals it really is personal choice, if medals are say Victorian and they have never been touched in years it's better to leave them, as it will take a long time to get that finish back if ever ,although they do equally look nice polished. WW2 medals as they are not silver is not as much of an issue, if they are nicely toned I would be tempted not to touch them however if they are starting to oxidise then probably giving them a polish would be a good thing. Best bet is to use something like silver polish but never use anything too abrasive, avoid things like brasso too as they tend to leave a residue. We can also court mount your medals too and get them framed which will also add some protection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
don Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 Any chance of some pictures of the medals don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noyes44 Posted February 4, 2009 Author Share Posted February 4, 2009 Cheers guys. Dave, the 91st (A&SH) A/Tk Regt was made up of four batteries - 144, 145, 146 and 344. 144 and 146 batteries were supplied with M10 self propelled guns and the other two batteries with towed 17 pdrs. My grandfather was a fitter with 144 Battery. He served with them all through the Normandy campaign and then in to Holland and Germany. In December 1944 144 and 146 batteries transferred to the 63rd (Oxfordshire Yeomanry) A/tk Regt. The photo I attached in my prevoius entry was taken in 1945 during the battery's advance through Germany. Note that the two men with my grandfather still have their tam o'shanters. The men of 144 and 146 batteries were allowed to retain these due to their previous links with the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders. There was a book written by Desmond Flower in 1950 detailing the history of the 91st A/tk Regt. Unfortuantely, it's like gold dust so if anyone comes across a copy I'd be greatful if you could let me know. The photo's of the medals were taken just after they were framed, which I did myself. The WWI medals are those for my great great uncle, John Robert Noyes, who was sadly killed on 11th July 1916 during the infamous battle for Mametz Wood. I did give the medals a polish before framing them and it's since then that they've started to oxidise slightly. Cheers, Robin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenny Andrew Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 Excellent Job Robin I wouldn't worry too much as long as they don't get any worse. My Uncle was in Holland and Germany too with the Cameronians. Did you see the thing about Rory Bremners father earlier on in the week? he was also in Holland and Germany. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 Hi Robin, The info I gave on 91st was from the new Concord book "British Armour in North-West Europe" by Dennis Oliver. He says that Desmond Flowers states the 91st RA(TA) as having Crusader AA tanks as OPs, and Crusader tractors towing 17 pdrs. However if you had better information then that would be great as I'd love to model an Achilles in a Scottish unit. Any idea of the AOS etc markings? As for the ToS many units that were transferred retained their original headgear. Some photos show 2 or 3 different ones in the same unit. So an Achilles with the crew in pixie suits and ToS would be great! As for the book have you tried a search in Amazon? I got a couple of OOP books quite cheaply there. However some Amazon sellers want high prices. There are also specialist booksellers such as ABE books. The medal display is superb. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noyes44 Posted February 5, 2009 Author Share Posted February 5, 2009 Most of the info I have about 144 Battery has come from the battery war diary, a copy of which I looked at in the Royal Artillery museum in Woolwich. In June last year I went over to Normandy and followed in the footsteps of 144 Battery. It was great to actually see the places the battery saw action, though it only knocked out two panzers during the Normandy campaign. The first was during Operation Jupiter when the battery held the east flank near the town of Fontaine-Etoupefour. Here they knocked out a Panther. The second tank they destroyed was in the town of Estry during Operation Bluecoat. The town was held by units from the 9th SS Panzer Div, who were supported by several Panzer IV's. The Germans were determined to hold on to the town and fighting was very heavy, especially around the church. When 144 Battery arrived at Estry they found one of the panzers patrolling the high st. An M10's was sent forward and, acting upon the information from a forward observer, fired blindly through three hedges and knocked the tank out! The best bit of the trip though was meeting a veteran from the 91st A/tk Regt. Unfortunately, he was from 344 Battery and so didn't know my grandfather. The pictures below show the field that the Panther was knocked out in, me standing next to the battle damaged church in Estry (complete with tam o'shanter and denim BDU!), Estry high st, and Len Little, the 91st A/tk Regt veteran. I've also included a photo of the Sgt's from 144 Battery from April 1944. My grandfather is in the top row, 4th from left. Robin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 Fantastic post Robin. You have done your grandad proud by your research. Cointidetally my grandad was a BSM mechanic in the RA(TA). They used 5.5 guns towed by Matators. I'll have to research his unit. Lots of photos of him in the family surrounded by dutch girls. ALL these guys were heroes and went through days we couldn't imagine. I'm all fired up to model that Achilles! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.