What can I do with my grandfather's old WW2 memorabilia?

Question

I literally have boxes of the stuff from his service (1938-58) that I have come in to possession of after the death of my grandma. He reached the rank of RSM and fought in North Africa and Burma, and formed part of Heilie Sellasie's personal bodyguard. He also served as a chindit.

I have items of uniform, an old Vickers (?!), medals, archaeological relics, hunted furs, a dispatch motorcycle, and letters addressed personally to him by the Ethiopian Emperor (thank you for your brotherly kindness, I will always remember your service, please visit again soon), Monty (good work RSM, you are a credit to the Army, stay in touch) and the King (your work and sacrifice for this glorious Empire will be spoken of by your family for a hundred generations... thanks to your contributions to the war effort the sun will not set on our sceptred Isle for another thousand years)...

...he knew these men personally, I have photos of him with them during and after WW2. What should I do with it all?

Obviously I would never dream of selling them or throwing them away. But should I keep them for my own family, or loan them to the government/ British museum/ regimental assoc.?

I stress all his letters are hand-written to him, and aren't generic de-mob letters (he appears to have been on first-name terms with the King, Monty and Heile).

Answer 1

What ever about keeping them for your family, on no account let items go to Regimental Military Museums unless you make a firm legal contract stating that the items will remain your property, and cannot be disposed off without you being contacted . In the past items on long term lone to some Museums have been sold off, as the then current director of the museum felt they were of no interest.

Another option would be to approach the Imperial War Museum document section with regards the paperwork to such a well connected NCO in the British Forces.

As a matter of interest what was his name as the numbers of men who managed to belong to the 8th Army (Desert Rats) and the Chindits is very small?.

Answer 2

Ww2 Memorabilia

Answer 3

History really needs these, your granddad sounds like he was a very special man who would have been quite modest if you had no idea about this stuff till after your grandmother passed away.

But as you say, it would be impossible to give this stuff up for good. Perhaps there are some pieces you don't particularly want any more-- nothing "strikes you" about them, so to speak. You can donate them to a local military museum, etc. For the other things, definitely worth showing them to the loca historic society or military exhibit or Servicemen's League to see if they would like to make up some sort of temporary display in conjunction with teaching about the military, or the war. Perhaps even schools would get something out of that-- but you will want to make sure in any case that the things you do loan are properly protected-- you don't want to do something good, like sharing these, and find that all you get back is mangled ex-wonderful stuff.

Answer 4

Great Collection! The advice about museums is good, especially the firm contract, but before you deal with the museums, get the entire collection fully cataloged (you can do this yourself if you have the time), and appraised at least twice. Then insure it in case something happens like fire, storm, flood, or insect damage. The people who suggested that museums will protect it against damage are probably right, but it is best to be prepared.

Answer 5

Contact his old Regiment, they may well have a museum where they can put all of this gear on display, the Imperial war museum may also be interested. It would be tragic if so much history was lost, it sounds fascinating.

Answer 6

You must go to the Curator of his Regimental Museum.

These things are too importasnt o be kept in a tin box, they should be shown to the world.

Your Grandfather seems to have been a very interesting old soldier, would have loved to have met him..

Answer 7

Your grandfather was very lucky and it's great that you still have all of his old letters etc.

My gut reaction was to not sell it, they are worth a lot of money i don't doubt, but that's not what this is about. Possibly put it up in your house and show case it for all who come and visit.

But after thinking about it, it sounds as if items such as you describe deserve more recognition. if it was me i would be contacting various WW2 history museums or national history museums to see if they would be interested in loaning them from you for them to put up. I'm sure that they would take them from you as they sound like very important pieces of history.

Best of luck to you.

Answer 8

1. find a way to catalog the medals (take pictures and say what the medal was for)
2. scan the letters to preserve them for future generations to have - it's a part of history
3. find a way to store them in an acid-free environment (check with crafting stores).
4. See if a museum would want to display the artifacts (after you scan them for yourself

Answer 9

would be a real shame if they were not made the most of, the imperial war museum would be able to direct you in finding a place for them to be shown for the public pleasure. Local library, other regimental displays, thousands of options. hope you find a good home for these historic items.

Answer 10

This was an issue my family dealt with when my grandfathers passed away. Both were involved with WWII and Pearl Harbor.

What I learned was that both had museums within their hometowns that were eager to display memorabilia concerning their backgrounds. You may wish to check that avenue or a somewhat larger museum that has WWII artifacts and displays.

Best wishes.