Veteran's Medals To Be Sold to Fund Care

Maybe the family in question may see them as assets, due to the fact they have a market value.
Has anyone asked the gentleman who WON the medals, not bought them his feelings?

They as I read it have put them to market to provide for his care because no Government funding is available, probably because the medals are listed as an asset so they cannot get funding until he is asset poor, which brings me back to my last post.

That isn’t correct. Houses are regarded as assets but medals are not. My reading is that the family have chosen a level of care that they would like him to have and have decided to fund it by selling his medals.

They as I read it have put them to market to provide for his care because no Government funding is available, probably because the medals are listed as an asset so they cannot get funding until he is asset poor, which brings me back to my last post.

I’m not getting outraged, I just believe ones medals are awarded for Valour, Service in certain areas or as in the case of the LS&GC medal for not getting caught. :p
They simply should not have a cash value put on them by the Government that awarded them before funding is provided by the state. If the person himself or herself decides to sell them or give them away then fair enough, once done those monies should be counted as their assets, but if the recipient does not sell them, they should simply be deemed as worthless by the Government or their agents for the purpose valueing their assets towards the cost of their nursing care for as long as that person is alive.

But that is the case. His family would not have been forced to sell his medals, they chose to.

I’m not getting outraged, I just believe ones medals are awarded for Valour, Service in certain areas or as in the case of the LS&GC medal for not getting caught. :p
They simply should not have a cash value put on them by the Government that awarded them before funding is provided by the state. If the person himself or herself decides to sell them or give them away then fair enough, once done those monies should be counted as their assets, but if the recipient does not sell them, they should simply be deemed as worthless by the Government or their agents for the purpose valueing their assets towards the cost of their nursing care for as long as that person is alive.

I know its easy to get outraged here, And Im trying not to, but if as a society we are quite prepared to let somebody off from crashing a National Bank and he gets away with his full pension with not a finger lifted in defence of this countries deteriorating finances [ of which we are reminded of every day]. Then we are all quilty of complacency.

A very emotive subject. Like TonyT above I have one valueless GSM. However I find it difficult to understand people who buy medals they have not won themselves.

It would open a can of worms – what about servicemen who served in various small wars or the numbers that took part in the likes of the nuclear bomb tests.
Whilst its sad that the medals have to be sold -I feel even more for the servicemen who’s medals don’t equate to 100K and are struggling to keep warm.

That is an idea I can get behind. These people deserve to be looked after.

As the government seems unable to fund care homes for everyone who needs them, there should be exemptions for servicmen who have served their Country during wartime.
I would imagine there is quite a small number who would qualify and this could be funded from the national lottery or a small portion of the 1% of GDP that our that the goverment seems to think is affordable to donate in charity payments abroad.
Despite the current economic conditions Britain is far from being poor. For someone who has given so much to preserve freedom enjoyed by everyone being forced to sell medals for care in old age is simply wrong.

Me 410 Combat Report

Hi, Please find attached a copy of his Combat Report detailing the loss of the Me 410 on the 22/23rd February 1944.

Melvin

www.aircrewremembrancesociety.co.uk

I vividly remember reading about Branse Burbridge and Bill Skelton in Jimmy Rawnsley and Robert Wright’s book “Night Fighter”. It left a lasting impression on me…

Melvyn Hiscock may have spoken to her more recently that I have, but she still lives alone and, I believe, still drives.

I know his widow, Gwen, quite well and speak to her often. The burglary thing was an issue, but the medical issue was the one which drove the decision.

Thank you. Nothing better than personal knowledge.:) She must be in her nineties now, is she? Is she in reasonable health?

Remember we are responding to a newspaper report and we don’t have all the facts. So we don’t know for instance what other elements of finance are involved.
I have to say that of the veterans I know / know of, very few feel strongly about their medals. So for many people selling them in case of need will not be an issue.

I know his widow, Gwen, quite well and speak to her often. The burglary thing was an issue, but the medical issue was the one which drove the decision.

A case in point, perhaps, was the sale of Neville Duke’s medals during his lifetime in order to fund medical attention for his wife.

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That was my understanding of what happened but I read subsequently that it was not in fact the case. I will try to dig out the piece I read.

I have found the quote and his wife’s operation was only part of a series of reasons as he explained:

“Sqn Ldr Duke said the decision to sell the medals was a hard one but had been forced upon him by worries about his wife’s condition, security at the family home following three burglaries, the cost of insuring the collection and the desire to keep it together, the couple having no children.
The couple lost silverware in the break-ins including cups won in air races, but the thieves missed Sqn Ldr Duke’s silver Hunter marking his record.
“It was never going to be easy to make a decision about the future of my flying career memorabilia, but following careful consideration I decided that it would be best to sell everything at auction in my lifetime,” he said.

I think the very idea that his gallantry awards are assets is unfortunate, although we do of course know that this is just what they are. Assets.

On the other hand, we do need to take into account his family’s wishes and what, indeed, his own wishes might be if he were able to express them. I do, though, come back to my original point; what about help from the church? That said, we don’t know of course if they have already forked out, anyway.

In cases like these I am always struck by what James Nicolson’s widow once said to me when talking about the sale of her husband’s VC group. “We might sell the piece of metal, but when it goes he will still be James Nicolson VC.”

Of course, there must be equally unfortunate cases where such sales are really very reluctant sales but where “needs must” and the feeling left behind is one of sadness that items of such sentimental and important value to families have to go. A case in point, perhaps, was the sale of Neville Duke’s medals during his lifetime in order to fund medical attention for his wife.

I agree all that Tony T says.

The problem lies in the fact the market values them, personally I would prefer if they were deemed valueless asset wise until after the recipient has died, or they had been passed / sold on.. a bit like church property.

I only have one campaign medal and to be honest it’s probably only worth about £50 but would I ever sell it, NO, and very few would from what i have seen, the simple reason being is it was awarded to me, not as some cash prized asset for doing brave deeds ( wasn’t even that ) but as an acknowledgement of my service.

And as you see with the older war heroes who have their medals stolen, it’s nothing to do about money, it’s a mark of respect bestowed upon them by a grateful Country for their service and a visible sign that they were there, they answered the call and went to war for this Country, for that Country to then make it a requirement that they then sell those medals to fund their care after having given so much to the Country is a travesty in itself.

That’s how I see it

I’m torn on this.

On one hand I am outraged that this man who fought a war that ultimately led to me being able to sit here and speak my mind is in such a situation that he has to sell his worldly good to survive.

On the other hand, the medals are just objects of fancy now. No one can take away this great man’s achievements and no one can deny his being awarded these medals. There will be records to prove it. The medals are just a physical representation. If he can benefit from their sale and live comfortably for the rest of his life. Then sell them. Sentimentally, this is a tragic thing to have to do. But in practicality, it makes perfect sense.