Unique WW1 Medal Set To 4 Brothers Viney Family With 2 Mons Stars With "5th August" Clasps.
The 4 brothers were from Winterbourne in Wiltshire in England.
One of the brothers died as a PoW in Germany 2 days after the war ended.
All 4 brothers were born to William Henry and Mary Jane Viney.
4 medal group to Gunner Nelson Edgar Viney(3144) G battery 3rd Brigade Royal Horse Artillery
He was born in 1881 in Wiltshire England.
He had a WW1 qualifying service date of 15th August and was therefore entitled to the “5th August” clasp on his 1914 Mons Star medal.
His army service had commenced before the 1st World War as he is listed on the 1911 census as a Gunner in the Indian city of Secunderabad.
He was also awarded a George V Long Service and Good Conduct medal in 1919.
2 medal 1914 Mons Star with “5th August” clasp group to Private Vester Viney (7958) 1st Btn Wiltshire Regiment
The 2 medal group consists of the 1914 Mons Star with clasp and the War medal – note that Percy Viney’s Victory medal is mounted with this pair to make a threesome.
Given that Vester was also awarded the Victory medal, the assumption is that this was lost and Percy’s medal was used to make up the group.
Vester died 2 days after the end of the war whilst a PoW – further details below.
He was born at Winterbourne Wiltshire in 1889. He was also known as Victor Viney at some points in his life.
He is listed on the 1911 census as a Private in the South African city of Pietermaritzburg, Natal.
He died 2 days after the war ended on 13th November 1918 Nov (his medal card states 3rd Nov but this is incorrect – that date also appears on some other parts of his record but showing as corrected to 13th November).
Vester Viney disembarked with his battalion at Rouen on the 14th of August 1914. He was wounded at Hooge in Belgium in one of the early battles of the war, reported on 5th November 1914 - the war diary for that day describes only 1 wounded, presumably this was Vester.
He was taken prisoner and was interred at Niederzwehren in Kassel and is buried at the cemetery there, details of which are available at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
Cause / reason for his death is unknown, but most likely to have been an illness such as Flu.
The camp at Niederzwehren was begun around December 1914 and held British and French prisoners captured on the western front. Early in 1915 Russian prisoners from the eastern front also arrived with numbers peaking at around 20,000.
The camp operated beyond the armistice of November 1918 and was only finally closed in the summer of 1919.
Victory medal to Private Percy Viney (32607, 47102)
Born 1896, his Attestation is dated 10th December 1915 as the age of 19 and 1 month.
Percy Viney served in the 3rd Btn Wiltshire Regiment (as 46821), then in the Devon Regiment (as 32607) and the 3 / 4 Btn Oxford and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry (as 7102 or 47102).
His record shows him serving in the UK for 2 years and 284 days before he was posted on 24th May 1918 whilst in the 3rd Btn Wiltshire Regiment (possibly as 46821) before transferring to the Devon Regt on the 27th Sept 1918 and then to the Ox & Bucks on 4th March 1919.
His Victory medal is mounted alongside Vester Viney’s 2 medals to make a threesome.
WW1 Pair to Private Martin Viney (SE-22277)
The WW1 pair consists of the War and Victory medals.
Martin Viney enlisted on the 11th December 1915 at the age of 40 years and 9 months, and was immediately posted to the Army Reserve.
He was then mobilised on the 19th March 1916 and posted on the 29th Sept 1916. He looks to have moved abroad as part of the BEF on 12th May 1917.
He served in the Army Veterinary Corps 6 RVH (Reserve Veterinary Hospital) as a Horse Driver.
He was discharged on the 2nd of January 1918, being over military age at 42 years old (“no longer physically fit for military service”).
His unfit state is said to have originated in Winchester camp, and was aggravated by active service.
His record dated 12th December 1917 shows him suffering from Myalgia / chronic Rheumatism of the legs and back.
As a result of this he was entitled to Silver War Badge number 296197 with the award record dated 18th Dec 1917.
The set is supplied with research materials of each of the brothers.
