WW1 Victory Medal to Bishop Royal Engineers.
A good single WW1 victory medal correctly named to 124638 Pioneer William Bishop of the Royal Engineers.
I heard a dealer at a military fair that pioneers were basically just road diggers and saw no action. This of course is ridiculous. The rank of pioneer is the same as a sapper and he would have been involved in all the same duties as a sapper. The difference between the two ranks is the Pioneer did not have a recognised engineering trade before the war, he was on slightly lower pay than the sapper because he had no qualifications. Although they were all trained on the job, so to speak, pioneers were usually young lads that had had little working experience in engineering work, or men of agricultural backgrounds etc. Many Pioneers dug the great tunnels that held explosives on the western front and many fought in the trenches in the 1918 German spring offensive in 1918. Never underestimate a Pioneer and this one was entitled to the 1914/15 star trio and the Silver War badge.
This medal is in excellent original condition and comes on a piece of replacement ribbon.
Code: 27763
14.00 GBP