Hero’s replica medals to go on display
REPLICAS of medals presented to a borough war hero have been donated to Hinckley and District Museum, where they will be put on public display.
Medal collector and dealer Stephen Kellaway has handed over the set representing the honours given to Earl Shilton-born Sharrad Holland Gilbert, who served in both the Boer and First World wars.
It will feature in a new display at the Lower Bond Street Museum called Gone For A Soldier, the story of Mr Gilbert and 15 other volunteers from the area who went to fight in South Africa at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.
Museum chairman Ann Crabtree said: “We tend to forget the importance of the volunteers in the Boer War as we have to look back past two world wars to the Boer War.
“Stephen’s contribution to our display will enhance it significantly and give people a chance to see Sharrad’s medals up close.”
Sharrad’s original medals were put up for auction in London in 2014 but their ownership was contested and bidding was suspended as police entered the auction room with a warrant for their sequestration.
It is not known where they are now although expert Greg Drodz said it is “in all probability” that they were returned to the would-be vendor, unsold.
Mr Gilbert died in Burbage in 1961, aged 93, but his grave in Burbage churchyard was never marked.
Burbage Heritage Society is fundraising to pay for a memorial to be put up and has so far raised £3,500 towards the appeal’s £4,500 target.
To find out more and how to contribute, visit Burbage Heritage Group’s website .
Hinckley museum opens for its 2017 season on Easter Monday, April 17, at 10am.