An original World War 1 Military Medal (MM), British War Medal and Victory Medal with lengths of original ribbon, named correctly to. MM – 14248 Sjt: W. BWM and Victory – G. The 20th Battalion was also known as the 20th (Shoreditch) Battalion. Surname on both BWM and Victory originally spelt’Reale’ with the final letter on both officially erased, nearly extremely fine. MM London Gazette 6 August 1918. Real attested for the Middlesex Regiment at Stoke Newington and served with the 20th (Shoreditch) Battalion during the Great War on the Western Front. He is referred to in the unit war diary under a page headed “Military Medals” at the end of March 1918 stating the MM was awarded for gallantry and devotion on the 21st – 26th March 1918. This period is known as the’Spring Offensive’ and was the last German push to win the war and in places the allied forces were pushed back to positions behind their 1915 and 1916 starting points before the advance stalled. As the advance caused several new salients the German line became too long to hold with the number of troops they had available. There are numerous pages devoted to the actions of late March in the war diary. During this period the unit were stationed at St. Leger, to the north of Bapaume and south east of Arras. It makes grim reading but it does appear that the 20th did not give up much ground, even though villages on their flanks were being taken by the enemy. Also awarded the MM during this period were three others, two of whom are reported as missing on the 9th April. Two of the three Officers decorated in this period were taken PoW on the 9th. The war diary suggests Sjt. Real was wounded on the 9th April 1918. Upon coming back into the line following the Offensive, the 20th found themselves in the hamlet of Fleurbaix, south west of Armentieres. The unit went into the front line on the night of the 5th/6th April, relieving the 12th Suffolks. A raid planned on the German lines commenced on the night of the 8th/9th April and was hit with a furious counter-attack from the Germans, following an SOS signal going up. The Battalion HQ was surrounded and outposts attacked from the rear. The CO and part of the HQ personnel managed to escape and set up a defensive line in a trench called City Road. A further retreat occurred in response to the German advance which was finally halted at Shaftesbury Avenue trench where the 20th met the 13th Yorks Regt. The following day the unit withdrew through Armentieres. The item “Original WW1 Spring Offensive Military Medal (MM) and Pair, Middlesex R, Wounded” is in sale since Thursday, August 27, 2020. This item is in the category “Collectables\Militaria\World War I (1914-1918)\Medals/ Ribbons”. The seller is “hornbeammilitaria” and is located in Birmingham, West Midlands. This item can be shipped worldwide.
- Country/Region of Manufacture: United Kingdom
- Country/ Organization: Great Britain
- Type: Medals & Ribbons
- Conflict: World War I (1914-1918)
- Service: Army
- Era: 1914-1945