"Battle of Britain" medal ribbon bar

[MerchantSeaman]

I saw one of these on eBay recently and it reminded me that I had got one too, its in a frame on the wall with a letter from the kind Gent who gave it to me - Innes Westmacott, a 56 Squadron Battle of Britain pilot and later an Ace flying on Malta.

A metal ribbon bar, paper (ersatz wartime) with a metal rosette and thin celluloid "water proofing".

Any ideas on valuation guys, as you'd expect the guy on eBay believed his was the rarest thing on the planet, I'm keen to be educated.

[MerchantSeaman]

and the reverse

[Rick Research]

.

[Adam H]

That is a very interesting (if not the most attractive) ribbon bar. With your provenance I am sure it would be well sought after by Battle of Britain enthusiasts. Not sure what kind of market value to attach to it mind you as it is a bit out of the ordinary as far as "BoB" items go. I wouldn't be surprised if, with the letter that it would fetch as much as 100 GBP, perhaps more!?

Cheers,

Adam

[MerchantSeaman]

we're certainly in agreement as to its ugly status however its also certainly either an official wartime ersatz issue or its a private job that was quite commonly used, there are several photos in the Imperial War Museum of them in use c.1943/44.


I wouldnt be selling it as Innes Westmacott was kind enough to give it to a (then) young lad fascinated by the Battle of Britain. I was lucky to write to a few of them before most of the world started to pester them and before a lot of the real collector mania got up and running and a few, without being asked, sent me odd bits and pieces, particularly him and H Mounsdon (also 56 Sqn)

[darryl-P]

I have never seen a paper "ersatz" medal ribbon bar either but it's certainly obvious that they did indeed exist. A rare and valuable thing I would think.

I used to own the 4-place medal group with BoB bar and tunic (plus a few other little bits) of Sgt AR Sarre, a Battle of Britain Spitfire pilot based at Hornchurch. He was credited with one kill and he himself was shot down (and baled out) twice and crash landed a third time...quite the career. He survived the war and died in the mid-1980s I believe.

It's strange how things happen but after I sold the outfit on eBay I was contacted about a month later by the pilot's son, Robin. I put him onto the buyer but I am not aware if he managed to get it.

[Adam H]

Darryl,

Interesting...it's nice when family members can get these items back...but also makes you wonder how they ever left the family in the first place. I'm sure there are lots of different stories.

A few years ago I posted my Canadian Battle of Britain group in a thread...I think it's lost now and the images are probably gone so maybe it's time I re-presented it in a better format...will work on that.

Cheers,

Adam