Ex SOE members badges
A good family friend has his fathers badges, medals and photo albums. His Father passed around 10 years ago and it seems said little about his wartime career-there is however photo evidence of him in the 8th Army and El Alamein. Some things he also mentioned were SOE and Arnhem. All seems very coherent and correct as I’ll detail.
The photo albums are fantastic-the wartime albums are only of the desert campaign and include loads with German and Italian tanks and aircraft. Unfortunately there are none of his later war service. The postwar shots clearly show his battledress and on his right shoulder is title Royal Engineers, SAS para wings and then Direct Reporting to War Office formation badge. He is seen defusing bombs across several locations including Hampton Court Palace, Hull and in Channel Islands. He got the MBE for all this work. In the collection are disarmed fuses -I presume one of these is from a Herman as he did defuse a few of these (one at Hampton Court). He even had the odd TV appearence in the 50s!
Medal ribbon-there are 2 of these-full size and miniature. Ribbons include MBE (awarded postwar for his work in bomb disposal), MM awarded for something he did wartime, Desert campaign (8th Army) and the other usual ribbons you would expect.
Extant medeals- the MM and MBE
Extant badges-this is where it gets VERY interesting. I can’t provide photos as the badges aren’t mine. Hopefully a description will suffice.
Badge 1- very small, thin brass/bronze-looks almost like it was made by a craftsman. The badge features a dagger with the knuckle duster-I’m thinking ME Commando?
Badge 2- uppointing sword, surrounded by a wreath. Badge is again very thin brass sheet. I thought it might be Greek Sacred Squadron?
Anyone any thoughts on whether its likely that these are the badges as I’m thinking, any idea on rarity and insurance? The owner is thinking of their long term future and we’re thinking of a suitable museum but we’d like to get some research done first so that there’s a full story to tell and then it doesn’t just get pushed into some drawer and forgotten.
