Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

1914-15 Star (4843 Pte. W. O’Keefe. Ir. Gds.; 2345 Pte. G. A. Lomas, Manch. R.) naming details on first very faintly impressed, otherwise very fine (2) £60-£80

William O’Keefe attested for the Irish Guards and served with the 1st Battalion during the Great War on the Western Front from 23 November 1914 (thus missing out on the award of a 1914 Star by a single day). Transferring to the Machine Gun Corps, he was wounded by gun shot to the back on 15 September 1916, and was admitted to No. 34 (West Lancashire) Casualty Clearing station, and then onwards by Ambulance Train. He is noted as having deserted on 20 June 1917, and as a consequence his medals would have been forfeited , with the 1914-15 Star Roll stating ‘No medals’. There is a note on his Medal Index Card which indicates that his medals were restored on 5 July 1947.

George Albert Lomas was born at Chorlton, Manchester, and attested there for the Manchester Regiment. He served with the 1st/7th Battalion during the Great War on the Western Front, and was killed in action on 28 March 1918. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Arras Memorial, France.