A BOY's fascination with his father's military honours was the inspiration behind the company that secured an £11million contract to make medals for the Ministry ofDefence. From the age of nine, Phil McDermott played with his father Stan's medals awarded for his service in Burma during the Second World War.

As the hobby grew, wartime friends of his father handed their medals to him to be mounted and added to his collection.

His dedication continued into adulthood but he decided to sell the entire collection after the arrival of his daughter in 1988.

But a dealer was so impressed with the work that, instead of buying the lot, he asked Mr McDermott, 57, to mount his collection.

And the hobby soon turned into profession as the IT worker formed a business to manufacture and collect medals. He started with £120 of stock to form the multi-million poundWorcestershire Medal Service that last month saw off competition from the Royal Mint to make all UK military medals apart from the Victoria Cross.

Mr McDermott, of Bromsgrove, said: "It is amazing really. In those days it was a rare hobby to have. My dad served, and my uncles, in pretty much every theatre around theworld. The men my father worked with had served too, and they would bring their medals in for me. I am just like a kid in a sweetshop here. I'm surrounded by what I love."

He added: "I'm still very interested in it and we do a lot of research for families now, find out the history of their medals.

"Sometimes people will come to sell their medals and then after they hear the story behind them they decide to keep them.

"I didn't really know what I wanted to do when I grew up but I certainly didn't know I could be making money from my hobby. I don't go to work a day in my life. My wiferecently asked me what I wanted to do for my birthday and I said, "'I want to go to work'."

To read the complete article, see:
Man who makes the medals for our heroes(https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/life/999071/ministry-of-defence-million-contract-heroes-uk-military-medals)

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
WORCESTERSHIRE MEDAL SERVICE WINS CONTRACT (http://www.coinbooks.org/v21/esylum_v21n30a28.html)