*British, WW1, Medal Pair to 15999 Gunner J. H. Fuller, Royal Garrison Artillery, with Photograph & RGA Silk Postcard (4)*
A Great War medal pair awarded to 15999 GNR. J. H. FULLER. R.A., comprising the British War Medal and Victory Medal, both correctly impressed in block serif style and retaining their original ribbons.
Included with the medals are two personal items belonging to the recipient:
• A cabinet portrait photograph of Fuller in civilian dress, mounted by F. S. Robinson, Camera House, 185 & 187 High Street, Homerton N.E. (with studio backmark numbered 16808).
• A finely embroidered Royal Garrison Artillery silk postcard, French-made (Brodés “La Pensée”, Paris), featuring the RA crown, gun, motto Ubique / Quo Fas Et Gloria Ducunt, and the initials R.G.A.
These accompanying pieces present a coherent and attractive small grouping relating to a Royal Garrison Artillery gunner.
Historical Note:
Gunner John Henry Fuller served with the Royal Garrison Artillery, the branch responsible for the British Army’s heavy guns and siege batteries. RGA units operated long-range artillery throughout the Western Front, often under hazardous counter-battery fire. Silk postcards of this type were popularly purchased by soldiers in France and Belgium and are strongly associated with front-line service.
Gunner John Henry Fuller, service number 159999, attested for the Royal Garrison Artillery in 1915, giving his address as 309 Markhouse Road, Leyton, E. His Short Service Attestation records him as 38 years old at enlistment, placing his birth year circa 1876–77. Fuller had married Elizabeth Jane (Cook) Fuller on 1 September 1906, and his papers list two children—Elizabeth Alice (born 9 July 1907) and Henry (born 21 November 1909)—as dependants. His Medal Index Card confirms entitlement to the British War Medal and Victory Medal, with continuous overseas service in the Royal Garrison Artillery during the First World War. A well-documented East London heavy-gunner, Fuller’s full family details and service can be traced through surviving attestation and medal roll records.
*Condition*
Both medals remain in presentable condition. The British War Medal shows an attractive even tone, with very good detail to the relief; its original ribbon is intact but displays fraying at the suspension end. The Victory Medal is very fine overall, with some light surface wear to the gilded finish and a clean, bright original ribbon. Naming on both medals is crisp and fully legible, reading 15999 GNR. J. H. FULLER. R.A. The cabinet photograph is clear and well-defined, with minor spotting and age toning to the image surface; the mount is sound and the decorative Robinson studio backmark is complete and legible. The embroidered silk postcard retains vibrant colours with the stitching intact; the silk and mount show light age spotting typical of period examples, and the reverse remains clean with no writing. Overall, all components remain in good, displayable condition with honest age consistent with a genuine WW1 grouping. Please see photographs as part of the condition report.
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