On Monday 3rd August the King family visited the Maidstone Museum to look at some objects belonging to Private Charles King of the Queen’s Own Royal West Kents, that were donated to us by some local family members a number of years ago.
There was a tapestry of the Queen’s Own Insignia that Charles made whilst recovering from an injury, his Victory medal and the digital copy of a photograph of Charles King.
After Charles died in the First World War his girlfriend married his brother, who was in the Navy, and Charles King’s Nephew who visited today can remember the tapestry and the photograph both hanging in the house when he was a child.
Usually you would expect the 1914-15 Star, The British War Medal and the Victory Medal to all be seen together. When Becky, our Collections Officer, asked why the Museum only held the Victory Medal the family showed her that they still have the War Medal and explained that Charles King would have been too young to have served between 1914-15.
As you can imagine, it is always lovely for our staff to meet with the relatives of soldiers who served in the Queen’s Own Royal West Kents, to share their memories.
