Jongudmund Posted November 25, 2016 Share Posted November 25, 2016 This has been in the news today as the Government are proposing making it an offence for a person to wear military service medals that they have not earned. Apparently this happens more than I would have thought. The punishment could be up to 6 months in prison or a £5000 fine. It wasn't military but I have known a person wear medal ribbons and when questioned say he was awarded them from St John's Ambulance. However, after he made the news the local newspaper looked into his claims, contacted SJA and discovered they had never heard of him. Anyone else got any stories of about this sort of thing? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bon Accord Posted November 25, 2016 Share Posted November 25, 2016 This has been in the news today as the Government are proposing making it an offence for a person to wear military service medals that they have not earned. Apparently this happens more than I would have thought. The punishment could be up to 6 months in prison or a £5000 fine. It wasn't military but I have known a person wear medal ribbons and when questioned say he was awarded them from St John's Ambulance. However, after he made the news the local newspaper looked into his claims, contacted SJA and discovered they had never heard of him. Anyone else got any stories of about this sort of thing? I'd imagine it all depends about what you consider unearned. I think most people who have been in or were involved in anything militaristic can tell you all sorts of stories of duplicitous and near-dishonest means in which individuals managed to have campaign medals officially awarded to them by the MOD. There was a quite a racket surrounding it during the recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan and indeed in Northern Ireland. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Siberian Snooper Posted November 25, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 25, 2016 I believe it's possible for next of kin to wear the medals, but that they should be worn on the right, instead if the left. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Reorte Posted November 25, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 25, 2016 Rather tongue-in-cheek, but not entirely, what about actors doing their jobs? In a similar vein I've sometimes wondered why actors playing policemen aren't in trouble for impersonating a police officer when that's exactly what they're doing. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sp1 Posted November 25, 2016 Share Posted November 25, 2016 I believe it's possible for next of kin to wear the medals, but that they should be worn on the right, instead if the left.I don't think that's official- just a tradition that seems to have become established? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Phil Bullock Posted November 25, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 25, 2016 I believe it's possible for next of kin to wear the medals, but that they should be worn on the right, instead if the left. That was my understanding too.... Phil Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arthur Posted November 25, 2016 Share Posted November 25, 2016 Tradition or officially sanctioned, it has become widely accepted and this practice is not covered by the proposed legislation. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackRat Posted November 25, 2016 Share Posted November 25, 2016 Walts, wannabes, stolen valour call them whatever, to me it's a form of mental illness. The wearers......Always claim to be former members of the SAS, SBS, Royal Marines or the Paras into the bargain. It's virtually impossible, to pass yourself off as a RM, (or indeed any of the above) a few simple questions usually shows these folks up for what they are. Quite sad really. And...Relatives medals are allowed to be worn on the right breast, and many are proud to do just that. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arthur Posted November 25, 2016 Share Posted November 25, 2016 Indeed, clearly, if worn on the right breast, the wearer is not claiming to have been the recipient of the award, merely representing somebody that did. They're not claiming to be something they are/were not. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold ikks Posted November 25, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 25, 2016 I wear my dad's medals at the ANZAC service on ANZAC day , he was at Dunkirk and later at Singapore in 1942, he was I guess, lucky in many ways but I would not have liked to have gone through what he went through. I wear the medals in his and his contempories honour on such occasions. It is never about me ,,,,,,always him. Mike Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karhedron Posted November 25, 2016 Share Posted November 25, 2016 Wearing medals of a relative to honour or represent them sounds fine and I do not see why it should be banned. Wearing medals you have not earned seems a pretty shabby thing to do but I am not sure about criminalising it. EDIT - According to the BBC, people wearing a relative's medals will not be criminalised under the new law. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-38103079 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Stubby47 Posted November 25, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 25, 2016 I think there is an element of 'intending to deceive' involved. So actors playing police or other service personnel are not interacting with the public so there should be no issue. Likewise a fancy dress outfit for a party has no relevance. But wearing a medal to gain an advantage of some sort would (or should) be where the legislation is aimed. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bertiedog Posted November 25, 2016 Share Posted November 25, 2016 As the previous post says the IPO offence, (playing or impersonating a Police Officer), involves " intent to deceive ", just as theft depends on intent to permanently deprive the owner of the goods or value. actors are considered a special case and the law has never stepped in, except in cases where accidentally the actors get reported to the Police by members of the public during location filming. This happened in a Morse programme and in at least two occasions in The Sweeney. However I think that the news reports may be wrong in some aspects as I thought it was already an offence to wear medals not awarded in the course of a deception. Several books and stories by respected authors have depended on plot points about the offence, but I have never looked up the regulations or the law involved. No offence is caused by relatives as long as the medals are worn on the other side. It is certainly an offence in Military regulations whilst in the service of the Crown, and I think that covers the Police and other related services. In the last war it was a serious offence to wear any uniform that you were not entitled to, this included decorations. The new proposals are to stop people posing as medal holders, by making it a criminal offence on it's own, rather than in the course of a deception as before. Quite why it has come up now I do not know, the papers do not make it clear. Stephen. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bertiedog Posted November 25, 2016 Share Posted November 25, 2016 It seems this has come about when an attempt to charge a person with medal wearing deception failed, because the Authorities discovered that medals were not covered by an old act of 1894, (still in force), that makes it an offence to wear any military uniform to which you were not entitled. In the past this was interpreted as covering medals, but no legal precedent was set. So the new legislation is to tidy up the existing law. Stephen Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nearholmer Posted November 25, 2016 Share Posted November 25, 2016 Should cut down on the number of iron crosses clanking around at preserved railway 1940s weekends. But seriously. Do the police and courts not have enough to do, without pursuing the delusional? Perpetrating deceit for gain is, I'm 90%+ sure caught by existing legislation. Kevin Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave47549 Posted November 25, 2016 Share Posted November 25, 2016 . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zomboid Posted November 25, 2016 Share Posted November 25, 2016 I imagine we've all been guilty of exaggerating our achievements a bit at some point in our lives. I'm not sure it's really a good use of our legal system to be prosecuting people for it. I don't think people wearing other people's medals is really a widespread issue. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pH Posted November 25, 2016 Share Posted November 25, 2016 This has been in the news today as the Government are proposing making it an offence for a person to wear military service medals that they have not earned. ... Anyone else got any stories of about this sort of thing? A blatant example from Canada - http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/politics/franck-gervais-faces-charges-after-impersonating-soldier-at-remembrance-day-ceremony-1.2836655 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Kazmierczak Posted November 25, 2016 Share Posted November 25, 2016 Now if you really want to wear lots of medals, I imagine North Korea might be the place to go. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 25, 2016 Share Posted November 25, 2016 The thing that always strikes me about Nork generals is that none of their uniforms fit properly. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EddieB Posted November 25, 2016 Share Posted November 25, 2016 Now if you really want to wear lots of medals, I imagine North Korea might be the place to go. Or you can always stay closer to home... Probably a few added since this old news story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/6147544.stm Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Kazmierczak Posted November 25, 2016 Share Posted November 25, 2016 The thing that always strikes me about Nork generals is that none of their uniforms fit properly. One size fits all? I think some have a rather short-term job retention rate. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 25, 2016 Share Posted November 25, 2016 One size fits all? I think some have a rather short-term job retention rate. Maybe it's like McDonald's and you get a star for every day you don't upset the fat dude. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Clive Mortimore Posted November 25, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 25, 2016 One size fits all? I think some have a rather short-term job retention rate. Half of them would have gone by the end of the parade, none of them seem to be in step. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coppercap Posted November 25, 2016 Share Posted November 25, 2016 Now if you really want to wear lots of medals, I imagine North Korea might be the place to go. main-qimg-315f872cb5b3f8f7abbec9148b252637-c.jpg They're handed out to those who clap their leader the most enthusiastically. The rest just get executed... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.