Down the Rabbit Hole

 It started with me thinking about my brother’s 60th birthday at the end of next month. He’s just become a grandad, and I want to find him an appropriate gift to maybe mark both occasions. Aside from buying him something, I had it in my mind to root through my vast accumulation of coins and see if I could find a 1966 sixpence, a sort of ‘lucky sixpence’ thing. I have two 1965 sixpences for my birth year, but sadly, I did not have a 1966 one. 

So there I was, sitting on the floor sifting through this huge box of coins I have. I came into possession of them when my Gran died in December 1986, so almost 40 years now. They’ve moved house with me and whenever I see them in whatever cupboard or drawer they’ve been stored in, I think, ‘Sort them out and sell them. There might be a couple of rare gems in there.’ But there are so many of different ages, origins, shapes and sizes, I’ve avoided sorting through them until today…

…when I suddenly thought, ‘It’s chilly and damp outside. What better way to spend a couple of hours than by sorting out these coins? I could start by separating them into their respective countries, couldn’t I?’

And so I did. And it took more than a couple of hours. 

Anyhoo, in their midst, I found this: 

It’s an engraved football commemorative medal from the First World War awarded to a Corporal Hemmett, on 6th October 1918.

Well, of course I then became distracted into looking at various war and army service websites to see if I could find out something more about Cpl Hemmett. And I did! 

His name was Alfred and his service number was 8779. He served with the 2nd Battalion, Prince of Wales Volunteers of the South Lancashire regiment, 75th Brigade within 25th Division. The ‘M.M’ beneath his name means he was awarded the Military Medal for bravery in battle, and this was cited in the London Gazette on 18th October 1917.  

He was also awarded the Star medal for serving in France in 1914, and the British War Medal and Victory medal which indicates he survived his service in WWI. I also discovered he was born in Southgate, Middlesex. 

We also found out (Lord M was involved by this time) that in 1929 there was a record of him handing over a pub called ‘The New Inn’ in Westfield to a new publican. Westfield is in East Sussex which is a few miles from Hastings, and could explain how my Gran came into possession of his medal, what with her living less than an hour from Hastings. 

BUT, it doesn’t tell the whole story, does it? Was her family connected in some way to his? Was he a friend of her father who also fought in WW1? I was holding this piece of silver, thinking of all the stories it contained within its atoms.

I also learned that football medals were given to soldiers in France because they played games whilst waiting for the German offensive to begin. Football was used to foster teamwork, comradeship and fitness. This medal was given only two weeks before the German offensive began in this part of France. It went into battle with Cpl Hemmett. What history, eh? 

Will I be able to find out more about Cpl Alfred J. Hemmett? I shall try, I think. It’s fascinating stuff. 

(P.S It also transpires I may have an ancestor called Philadelphia Cook, which tickled me because I wondered if she invented cheese, and if she did, wouldn’t that be a great accompaniment to go with the Pimms gin drink invented by my great-great-great grandfather, James Pimm? Soft cheese ‘n’ gin. Mmmmmmmm…..)