Just thought I should post this as some of your ancestors are bound to be in
the list.
Hi all,
Copied this with permission of the poster
Start of quote:
As we go to press, it has come to my attention that in April the MOD
intends to destroy some 6 million records of medals issued to WW1
personnel. I think you will agree that we cannot let them do so.
Our military expert Paul Reed has been looking into the matter and it
appears that the private facility used by the MOD to hold the records at
Hayes wants to relocate and charge the MOD for moving the cards. The
MOD's response is to get rid of the 140 filing cabinets that contain the
4-6 cards. The National Archives doesn't want to take on the cards
because it has already microfiched them and the microfiche has been
digitally scanned (see
www.documentsonline.nationalarchives.gov.uk).
This isn't good enough. This is the only complete and untouched record
of First World War soldiers left. Other service records were burned
during WW2. Only the fronts of the cards have been scanned and we
believe that written on the back of many of these cards is the address
that the medals were sent to. Often, it isn't possible to determine
whether the record of the medals issued relates to your ancestor or
another person without checking this address.
First, the cards need to be preserved. They then need to be scanned
properly, front and back, and re-indexed. If the National Archives
won't step in, perhaps someone else will. The Imperial War Museum? The
Veteran's Association?
The MOD claims its holds copyright on the cards and that it can do what
it wishes with them. I'd argue that these cards are part of the
nation's heritage. They are public records, and I'd remind the MOD that
the descendants of WW1 soldiers pay their taxes. The cards remind us of
the enormous sacrifice and loss incurred by men and women in this
country during WW1, and of their bravery in adversity. They enable the
children and grandchildren of those who died, and those who survived, to
find out some of
the lost details of their forebears.
To save the cards we must take action. We're instituting a campaign to
urge the Minister of Defence, Geoff Hoon, and the Director of the
National Archives, Sarah Tyacke, to prevent the destruction of these
records straight away. Address your letter to us and we'll pass it on
to these authorities:
Rt Hon Geoff Hoon & Sarah Tyacke
Save the Medal Index Cards
c/o Your Family Tree
30 Monmouth Street
Bath BA1 2BW
Alternatively, send an email headed 'Save the Medal Index Cards' to us
at <
yfted@futurenet.co.uk>. Do it now - the records are due to be
destroyed in April.
Garrick Webster,
Editor, Your Family Tree"
End of quote
I apologise for typos in the above. As we know now that the 1911 census
is in one almighty mess with the enumerator's books lost and the
household schedules badly damaged, the thought of yet another valuable -
priceless - resource being deliberately destroyed is beyond belief.
Such destruction will prevent those following in our footsteps in family
history research in generations to come from achieving their goals.
If you wish to post this to other lists, please feel free to use the
above.
