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Rory wrote: Yes Meurig if You know my modus operandi at all you will know that I would have researched the group thoroughly before deciding to buy it.

This was the case with Franklin. The replacement BSAC medal wad officially noted on the medal roll when issued in 1936. There was also full disclosure by the seller.

Regards

Rory

Excellent!

Rory,
My own thoughts would simply be. that the price sought and subsequently paid, should reflect the replacement medals, these would not bother me, in particular, as a collector, they are good, scarce and original medals and actually belonged to the recipient.
It is interesting to speculate upon why his first two medals were replaced, either he had lost them or had them stolen, I doubt if he had pawned them, although, it can not be ruled out completely.
A surprising number of British Army recipients did have their BSA Co medals replaced within a very short time of them actually being issued, I dare say some were stolen, but, medal collecting was rife in King Edward's day and these medals would actually be very scarce indeed, as far as a collector in Great Britain was concerned, I would think the allure of good hard cash would be too much to resist for some of Carrington's lads.

In this case, I would be happy with them as a group, I would certainly keep an eye out for the other BSA Co medal, in particular, as well as the QSA and I would certainly want to buy them, assuming they are both extant, if and when they became available.
Regards Frank

I wholeheartedly agree with you Frank and the price I negotiated with the seller was indeed reflective of the medals being official replacements.

What attracted me to Franklin's group (warts and all) was the inclusion of an article in the Daily Graphic of Franklin and two of his comrades at a dinner many years later, reminiscing about the old days and sharing exploits they were involved in. With the article was a photo of Franklin sporting his medals. I was sold on the group there and then. He obviously wore them with pride and that is enough for me.

A further bonus was the wealth of research potential much of which I have already unearthed but all will be revealed when I write my story.

I have put the question to DNW about who bought the original medal and one can only speculate as to how Franklin was parted from them. There is an element of fascination about that in itself.

Regards

Rory

Hello Rory,
Well, I think, then as now, any and indeed, all, in pensioners at the Royal Hospital clearly need to have their medals and I am sure that Franklin would certainly have worn them on a regular basis, I would be very happy with them, they are not medals that you will encounter these days, I've always liked BSA Co medals to British Army recipients, purely for their relative scarcity.
Regards again, Frank