Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Simon C. Marriage

Simon Marriage took to medals when quite young, mentored by his uncle who was one of the very early members of the Orders and Medals Research Society (O.M.R.S.), and at the age of 15, and sponsored by his uncle, he became their youngest member, with a membership number of under 1,000, of which he was very proud. Having completed his education at Ipswich School, Simon progressed to Cardiff University where he graduated in Accountancy. Returning home to Ipswich he joined Balham’s Accountants, and once earning, began to build his medal collection based on the ideas gained from his Uncle.

Simon’s themes initially were the Suffolk Regiment and the Royal Artillery, a pleasure that stayed for well over fifty years. The Suffolks collection started with the campaigns of the 1860s where Simon had a good run of New Zealand medals. Over time, the Suffolks Regimental collection grew to include Hazara, Afghanistan 1878-1880, the Boer War, and subsequently the First and Second World Wars, with the collection concluding at the end of the 1950s, after the Suffolk Regiment was amalgamated with the Royal Norfolk Regiment to form the East Anglian Regiment in 1959. The Royal Artillery was a much bigger undertaking, the first part of which was sold at Noonans in June 2023, and Simon accumulated a spectacular collection of Military General Service medals for the Napoleonic War and a range of medals for Waterloo. He went on to include early medals for the East India Company, the Sikh Wars and on to the Indian Mutiny, one of his treasures being a Victoria Cross to the Bengal Artillery. During the same period he collected medals for the Crimea and Victoria’s small wars which spanned the globe. He particularly liked the India General Service Medals and the campaigns they represented, most of which were on the North-West Frontier of India, but also for actions further afield such as Persia, Burma and Perak. The Small wars theme continued with a collection of medals for African campaigns including Abyssinia, Egypt, Nigeria, Ashanti and many more. The Boer War and the First and Second World Wars provided major themes and Simon was always delighted when he found a gem. Unlike with the Suffolks, Simon was able to collect Royal Artillery medals up until the present, and overall must have achieved one of the most comprehensive and interesting collections put together in recent times.

Simon was not only a medal collector but also collected some fantastic items of militaria ranging from swords to helmets and badges. He was also a very accomplished researcher, having a huge collection of books, an almost full range of Army Lists, and a ticket to the National Archive at Kew where he was a regular visitor. Nothing went un-researched which is what makes his such an incredible collection. Sadly, Simon passed away in January 2023, and the time has now come to pass on his collection to those who will appreciate not only the medals themselves, but also the stories behind them.

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