Orders, Decorations and Medals

Robert Lamb

I first met Bob in 1963 at Forman's Coin and Medal shop in Summer Row Birmingham. Michael Forman, the proprietor was the founder of the Birmingham Medal Society and Bob and I were at the inaugural meeting, together with six other medal collectors. At that time Bob collected medals to the Royal Artillery and Police. He had collected military badges and medals since his youth. He had his own special way of mounting, labelling and displaying his medals, which many members of the society adopted as a practice for their own collections. He often gave talks to the Society on Artillery or Police medals and always managed to contribute items for meetings, for example, when "Recent Acquisitions" were programmed he would always bring out some unusual medals to the Police or Artillery. Or when we had a talk on "Medals and the North West Frontier of India" Bob would would supply medals named to gunners of remote Artillery Mountain batteries which were present at these campaigns.

During the latter period of his collecting he replaced his collection of Police medals to concentrate solely on his Artillery collection. In so doing he managed to acquire most of the campaign medals where units of the Artillery, however small, were present. 
His association with the Birmingham Medal Society and positions held are as follows:-Founder Member 1964, Secretary 1965-67, President 1967-68, Member of Committee 1964-1985, Editor of Newsletter 1976-1985.

Having served in the Royal Artillery during the latter part of the Second World War and the Palestine Campaign of 1945-48, followed by a career in the Birmingham and West Midlands Police Force, he was awarded the following medals:-1939-45 War medal named to him as Survey Sergeant R.E. Lamb R.H.Q. 1 I R.H.A. G.S.M. Bar Palestine 1945-46 named Sgt. R.E. Lamb. R.A., Coronation medal EIIR 1953 named P.C. R.E. Lamb "C" Div. B'ham City Police, Jubilee EIIR 1976 named Inspector R.E. Lamb W, Midlands Police. Police Long Service and Good Conduct Medal EIIR, named Inspector R.E. Lamb, with bar showing his Police Service 1948-1985.

I always found Bob to be friendly, good natured and always willing to impart the information he had gathered during his time collecting medals. If anyone in the Society had a query regarding Artillery or Police medals, then I would point them in the direction of Bob, he never failed to help or advise.

His popularity in the Birmingham Medal Society was shown by the high proportion of members who were present at his funeral in June 1998. 

He is sadly missed by us all.

Peter D Done

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