THE DECEMBER/JANUARY ISSUE OF MEDAL NEWS IS NOW ON SALE! Medal News is the world's only magazine devoted to medals and battles. Many interesting features in the magazine this month!
Lord Ashcroft and the Special Forces Heroes
An interview with the philanthropist and author on the launch of his new book
A veteran of a British "Small War"
Quelling disquiet in far flung corners
The KSA and the bar-less conductors
The unsung heroes of the Boer War
A hero's legacy
An emotional pilgimage to Ypres
The Essex Regiment Museum
A fascinating tour of a much respected museum
Captain Parslow VC
In search of one hero's story
The dismasting of the pilot schooner Rip
Paying the supreme sacrifice
Years of Endurance
The 10th Cruiser Squadron and the Northern Patrol
Finding a father
Discovering the ups and downs of an unknown parent
Operation Ironclad
Lending a hand at a crucial time
A close shave in the Atlantic
Turning an "ordinary" set of medals into something special
Badges of University Volunteer and Training Corps
Taking a look at two distinguished institutions
Regular Features:
THE EDITORIAL
NEWS AND VIEWS
MARKET SCENE
BOOKSHELF
ON PARADE
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
DEALERS' LISTS
MEDAL TRACKER
CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING
DIARY
Face to face
Everyone a winner
ARMISTICE Day 2008 was the rather appropriate day for the launch of Lord Ashcroft’s new book Special Forces Heroes—and the first day of the Channel Five television series that accompanies it. The launch itself was held at Millbank Tower just half a mile from the Palace of Westminster and, rather fittingly, with a wonderful view of Whitehall and the Cenotaph and was attended by numerous people well known to us all (including a number from the Conservative party in the Commons and the Lords) and some whose faces, at least, are not so well known but whose names, or pseudonyms, have gone down in the annals of military history. Their number included men of the SAS and SBS who took part in some of the most famous Special Forces actions from the last four decades. Their faces might not be known to us but their bravery certainly is.
Like its sister publication Victoria Cross Heroes this new book outlines their bravery as well as the lives and endeavours of the men whose medals Lord Ashcroft now holds in his collection. We knew there was such a collection, he hinted at that last time MEDAL NEWS spoke to him, but it wasn’t until now that we were privy to just what it comprised.
Any of us would be proud to own just one of the groups highlighted in the book—be it Bronco Lane’s Northern Ireland MM, Takevesi’s DCM for Mirbat or any of the service medals of the men who helped release the hostages from the Iranian Embassy siege in 1980—but here they are all together, simply outstanding and I must confess to being somewhat envious of their current custodian!
One can, I think, understand envy: it’s different from jealousy—jealousy includes resentment and I certainly don’t resent Lord Ashcroft at all—here is a wealthy man who has decided to spend some of his money on medals, and in doing so has
