I have copied this letter from another message board as it is very important.
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.ukDo it now - the records are due to be destroyed in
April.
Garrick Webster,
Editor, Your Family Tree'
