Valour For Sale

Disgusting what this sister of a KIA British soldier has done...but another collector to the rescue.

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I trust her trip to the MED was in the best interests of her son! I hope they cut her off of wellfare!

I have to say I don't really think it's reasonable to pass judgement on the woman like this.

At the end of the day, the medals were her property and she was entitled to do whatever she liked, keep them, sell them, burn them, whatever. Perhaps the medals were too painful to look at after the loss of her brother and she wanted them out of her life, who knows? It's really none of our business.

Rob

Hi Rob

Well said.

I might add that if any sense of dissappointment needs to be expressed it should be toward Mr Langley's initial purchase from the Sister.

£1,100 for the group? That is disgusting. I may not collect modern british casualties but even I know that £1,100 is about a quarter of their monetary worth, at the very least!!

He bought then initially without any intent of giving them to the Fiance so it strikes me that he bought them from the Sister knowing he'd make a HUGE profit.

I applaud his later decision, make no mistake but am appalled at the circumstances he aquired them.

Merely my 2 cents.

*Oh, and Dale; you spelled "Valour" wrong!!

regards
Darrell

Darrell wrote:
*Oh, and Dale; you spelled "Valour" wrong!!

Must be the American blood in me...

I guess it is her choice whether to sell them or whatever...but to fund a vacation?!? To me, she is a few french fries short of a happy meal...in other words, a complete idiot. Apparently a cruise is much more important than using the money to raise her child. That's what pissed me off about this article.

From WW I to the present, veterans themselves have sold their own medals for various reasons. Here's one example:


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FOUR medals awarded to a Manchester combat medic who amputated a soldier's leg with a penknife while under heavy fire have fetched more than £30,000 at auction.

Martin Bentley, now 52, was awarded four medals, including the Military Medal for bravery and the South Atlantic 1982 Medal with Rosette. Lance-Corporal Bentley joined the Army in 1970 and was also awarded medals for duty in Cyprus and Northern Ireland before joining 2 Para in the South Atlantic. He took part in the battle to take Goose Green and Darwin against strong Argentine resistance. A combat medic is a vital link between the front line and the company medical officer, working extensively on and around the battlefield.

Goose Green

The Parachute Regiment came under heavy mortar and artillery fire in a gulley at Goose Green on May 28, 1982. One soldier came into the first aid station saying his mate was pinned down on a forward slope. With his leg half-blown off, he would die without assistance. When L/Cpl Bentley and a stretcher party found the soldier, he amputated the almost-severed lower leg with his Swiss army knife. The heavy loss of blood was stemmed and he took the soldier, Private `Chopsey' Gray, back to the regimental aid post. He survived. A citation to L/Cpl Bentley's Military Medal in the London Gazette said later: "It was of tremendous credit to the regimental aid post that none of the battalion's 34 wounded died.

"This credit belongs to none more than Lance Corporal Bentley. His courage and presence of mind in carrying out his job acted as an inspiration, not only to other medical orderlies, but to all those who came into contact with him. "He was to be found wherever the casualties were thickest."

Mark Quale, an expert at Spink, the firm of specialist auctioneers which sold the awards, said: "There is considerable interest among collectors in medals from the Falklands campaign." L/Cpl Bentley was later in action again, working with a helicopter pilot at dusk that night to ferry the wounded back for treatment. He reported the pilot's bravery and flying skills to superiors, and the officer was subsequently awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. The Argentines surrendered the next day.

L/Cpl Bentley left the army in 1983 and worked in America.

He rejoined the colours with the Duke of Lancaster's Own Yeomanry in 1985.

He served with the regiment for five years before leaving the Army after 17 years' service.

Here's another example:

Ian Bailey (British Army soldier)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ian Philip Bailey MM (born 1959) was a Corporal in 4 Platoon, B Company, 3rd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment who won the Military Medal for bravery during the Falklands War of 1982, one of only 12 awarded to the Parachute Regiment.

During the Battle of Mount Longdon on 12 June 1982, 4 Platoon's Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Bickerdyke, along with Sergeant Ian McKay, a signaller and several other paratroopers went forward to reconnoitre the enemy positions. During this action Bickerdyke and the signaller were wounded by a heavy machine-gun position, so McKay took over command of the platoon. He decided to turn his reconnaissance into an attack on the machine gun's position, which was seriously threatening any advance. He took Bailey, then aged 22, and three other men with him and they charged the position. Bailey and two other men were wounded, the third man being killed as they charged forward into the enemy fire. McKay carried on the attack alone, attacking and destroying the heavy machine-gun with grenades. He was killed at the moment of victory, his body falling on to the ruined enemy bunker. He was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross for his bravery during the attack, which allowed the advance to continue. Corporal Bailey was awarded the Military Medal.

Bailey later said of the attack on Mount Longdon:

Ian and I had a talk and decided the aim was to get across to the next cover, which was 35 metres away. There were some Argentinian positions there but we didn’t know the exact location. He shouted out to the other corporals to give covering fire, three machine-guns altogether, then we - Sergeant McKay, myself and three private soldiers to the left of us - set off. As we were moving across the open ground, two of the privates were killed by rifle or machine-gun fire almost at once; the other private got across and into cover. We grenaded the first position and went past it without stopping, just firing into it, and that’s when I got shot from one of the other positions which was about ten feet away. I think it was a rifle. I got hit in the hip and went down. Sergeant McKay was still going on to the next position but there was no one else with him. The last I saw of him, he was just going on, running towards the remaining positions in that group. I was lying on my back and I listened to men calling each other. They were trying to find out what was happening but, when they called out to Sergeant McKay, there was no reply. I got shot again soon after that, by bullets in the neck and hand.

Bailey was shot three times during the assault and the final bullet and the last of the shrapnel were not removed from his hip until 2009, he having been unaware that it was still there. He was also shot in the neck and the bullet severed the cord holding his identity tags; they were found in 1983 during a de-mining operation.

When McKay was buried at Aldershot Military Cemetery in 1982 Bailey was one of those who carried his coffin. Bailey later reached the rank of Warrant Officer Class I and was commissioned as a captain in the Parachute Regiment on 6 April 2000. He retired from the army on 3 December 2002. He then worked in the security industry. In November 2009 it was reported in the British media that he intended to sell his Military Medal group because he was unable to work following further surgery in 2009 to remove shrapnel from his hip left from his 1982 injuries. The medals sold at auction on 2 December 2009 to an anonymous British collector for a hammer price of £70,000, a record for a Military Medal.

Bailey's medals are: Military Medal, E.II.R., 2nd issue (24438472 Cpl I P Bailey Para); General Service Medal 1962, 1 clasp, Northern Ireland (24438472 L Cpl I P Bailey Para); South Atlantic Medal 1982, with rosette (24438472 Cpl I P Bailey Para); U.N. Cyprus Medal; N.A.T.O. Medal, clasp, Kosovo; Jubilee 2002 Medal; Regular Army Long Service and Good Conduct Medal E.II.R. (24438472 S Sgt I P Bailey Para). His Military Medal is one of just 34 awarded for the campaign.

Ian Bailey lives in Ash Vale in Surrey with his wife and two children.

A WW I British veteran who was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions on the Somme in 1916, was forced to sell his medal post war in order to just survive. A couple of years ago an Australian veteran who was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions in Viet Nam, sold his medal group to take care of his financial future in retirement.

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Lot 578:

An Outstanding Kuwait 1991 Humanitarian Royal Air Force George Medal Group.
Awarded to Aerial Bomb Disposal expert Sergeant Dennis Rogers RAF, who although with no knowledge of land mines, risked his own life on two occasions to save two boys who had strayed into a minefield, detonated two mines and sustaining dreadful injuries they lay in the middle of the minefield with their lives ebbing away.
Comprising: George Medal “Sgt Dennis A. Rogers F8142818 RAF”, Campaign Service Medal, clasp “Kuwait” “Sgt RAF”; South Atlantic Medal “Cpl RAF”, Royal Air Force Long Service & Good Conduct Medal “Sgt RAF”. Group mounted Court Style as originally worn ... The group is accompanied by the original combat knife used by Sergeant Rogers on that fateful day to clear a path through the mine field ... His RAF Bomb Disposol Badge ... A DVD this with a compilation including: Local TV News reports announcing the awarded to the George Medal, whilst Sgt Rogers was serving at RAF Stafford ... The BBC television program .... Introduced by Martin Bell, which described and reconstructed the rescue and followed up by taking Sgt Rogers to Kuwait to see the two boys he saved. The finial part is the Buckingham Palace investiture of the George Medal by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth. (£10,000 - £15,000)
London Gazette 7th September 1992 : “Sergeant Dennis Anthony ROGERs (F8142818) Royal Air Force Sergeant Rogers is employed as the Senior Non Commissioned Officer (Air) in the UK Explosive Ordnance Disposal (BOD) Cell in Kuwait City. On 20th June 1991 at 1040 hours he was summoned by a Kuwait police captain to an incident in an Iraqi laid coastal minefield nearby. Responding instantly, Sergeant Rogers arrived with a colleague and assessed the situation. Lying in the middle of scores of densely laid anti-personnel mines were two Kuwaiti boys, both very seriously injured from at least two mine detonations. Both were conscious but had each lost a leg and had multiple lacerations and other injuries. Sergeant Rogers had to act quickly in order to save the boys' lives; he immediately ordered all military and civilian onlookers behind cover and then entered the minefield fastened by a secure line back to Corporal Winter. With complete disregard for his own safety he crawled towards the first casualty and recovered him along the approach route to safety. Without hesitation he entered the minefield again. Now dehydrated in temperatures in excess of 45°C, he breached through more mines past the first position to reach the second casualty. Thinking only of the boy's own safety Sergeant Rogers painstakingly retrieved the boy back along the breached route, between many mines, eventually delivering him to a medical team. In the opinion of the military medical officer on the scene he acted just in time to save the boys' lives. Sergeant Rogers has had no training in minefield breaching and there is no doubt that he placed his own life at very serious risk throughout his action. During the breach he had to locate and move a number of sensitive and powerful mines, even though he did not know whether or not they had anti-disturbance fuses. Sergeant Rogers' courageous and selfless action cannot be praised enough. In a harrowing operation he kept cool and in a most hostile environment he thought only of the welfare of the casualties. His action was typical of his brave and strong character shown throughout his exceptional service in the aftermath of the Gulf War in Kuwait. There is no doubt that his outstanding effort during this incident was in the best traditions of the Service.”
Sergeant Dennis Rodgers joined the Royal Air Force in 1971, qualifying as a aerial Bomb disposal expert, he served in the Falkland Islands in this capacity. As the First Gulf War was coming to an end and troops were being pulled back to the UK he received orders to join the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (BOD) Cell to be based in Kuwait City. This team consisted of only four experts with Royal Engineers Sappers in support. Early in his tour Sgt Rodgers showed great bravery, on the Basra road, which was still littered with Iraq military trucks and tanks, many with ammunition onboard, On this day explosions were heard and heading towards them, he discovered that the excessive heat was detonating the ammunition and bombs. A cordon had not been enforced and a relief convoy was due to travel along the road within hours Sgt Dennis drove his land rover through the exploding hell, to stop and save the convoy. The BBC documentary reconstructed the minefield rescue and with additional commentary by Sgt Rodgers and fellow members of the team the full story of this act of supreme gallantry can be seen. The two boys were 50 yards into the minefield and at first they both appeared to be dead. When it was realised they were alive Sgt Rodgers did not hesitate to go in and get them out. It was only afterwards that he realised what he had done. A week later he visited the two boys who were recovering in hospital the younger boy was heard to say “Here comes the man with the big Knife”. Two weeks later his tour of duty was complete and he returned to RAF Stafford. The BBC documentary tells vividly the effect of the action and latter took Sgt Rodgers back to Kuwait to meet the boys again. The final part of the accompanying DVD is the investiture at Buckingham Palace of the George Medal by Her Majesty the Queen

This medal group set a record for a George Medal at auction and sold for 26,000 GBP. This group was put up for auction by the veteran.