WW1 war medals melted down by scrap dealers for quick cash as price of silver surges

Soaring precious metal values could therefore place 6.5 million British War Medals at risk, with the decorations now worth significantly more when melted down than their market price as collectables.

Each award contains more than 92 per cent silver and weighs 1.2 ounces.

With silver currently trading at £62.42 per ounce, the bullion value is £40 more than the £20 some medals were recently fetching on platforms such as eBay.

The decorations feature King George V's profile on one side, with Saint George mounted on horseback trampling a German and Austro-Hungarian eagle shield on the reverse.

These awards were presented to military personnel and the families of those killed during a conflict that claimed up to 900,000 British and Imperial lives.

Stuart Fawcett, a Royal Navy veteran, told GB News: "Often the tragedy of war is veterans’ poverty after the guns have fallen silent. I imagine many of these medals have found their way into private hands after veterans cashed them at some point to help them through hardship.

"It’s a cruel turn of fate that sees their most inflated value not enjoyed by those who earned them, exacerbated by their loss of being as they are melted down for scrap."

Greg Edmund, Head of Coins and Commemorative Medals at Spink auction house, condemned the practice.

"These medals are all that remain of the gallant service and personal sacrifice of our nation's forebears.

"To erase their legacy for the sake of £50 is crass in the extreme.

"How can you possibly condemn the value of a human life into the melting pot for the price of a restaurant dinner?"

As such, collectors are taking action to preserve the important pieces of British history.

A father-and-son antique business in Herefordshire has launched a campaign to prevent these historic decorations from being destroyed.

War and Son, based in Leominster, have now purchased more than 160 medals that would otherwise have been scrapped.

Steve Nuwar, who operates the shop alongside his father Dave, despaired that the developing trend was: "An ugly brutalisation of over 100 years of history."

The shop is now offering to match silver market prices to outbid those who would destroy the decorations without regard for their historical significance.

Mr Nurwar noted that a similar crisis occurred during the 1970s, when silver prices spiked.

Since beginning their rescue effort, the Leominster shop has uncovered 100 individual stories behind medals destined for destruction.

Among those saved was a decoration belonging to Eric Sutherland Mackay, who enlisted underage with the 8th Battalion, Leeds Rifles, West Yorkshire Regiment and died from wounds in July 1918, aged just 18.

Another belonged to local soldier Donovan Freeman, killed serving with the Cheshire Regiment in France in 1917.

The campaign's Facebook appeal has attracted more than 85,000 views in support of the effort.

Nonetheless, Mr Nurwar did show some understanding for metal dealers who may not appreciate the medals' true value.

"You can see why people have been pushed to do it and why some people have taken advantage of that," he told The Sun.

"They just see what's put in front of them, they test it and don't think twice about whether it's a charm bracelet or a medal with St George on the back of it."

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