Medal cabinet, Sergeant Arthur Cox

Medal cabinet, Sergeant Arthur Cox

Collected in 2018

These medals were awarded to Arthur Cox of Thornes Lane, Wakefield. He fought and died during the First World War.  

Hand coloured photo of Arthur Cox in his First World War uniform

He was a Sergeant with the Royal Field Artillery and received the Military Medal for bravery in the field. Tragically, he died on 29 July 1917, just a few weeks after the government announced his medal in the London Gazette. He is buried at the British War Cemetery at Godewaersvelde in northern France. 

Arthur Cox’s grave

After the war, his family proudly displayed the Military Medal and his service medals in a cabinet with his memorial plaque. The government sent these bronze plaques to the families of fallen soldiers. They came with a memorial scroll and a message from King George V. They were sometimes known as a 'dead man's penny' or a 'widow's penny'.

Memorial scroll sent to Arthur’s widow

Unlike many recruits, Arthur was an experienced soldier before the First World War. He also served in South Africa in 1901-1902 during the Second Boer War. He was part of a volunteer regiment, the Queen’s Own Yorkshire Dragoons. Arthur became an honorary Freeman of Wakefield in recognition of this service. The display cabinet also contains his service medals for the Boer War campaign alongside his First World War medals.

Certificate admitting Arthur Cox as an honorary freeman of the city of Wakefield