Welcome to Vimy Militaria, a company dedicated to providing you, the military collector, with a fine selection of quality military antiques, militaria, and research. Vimy Militaria is owned and operated by Jim Godefroy. I have been a collector of Canadian medals and militaria since the early 1980s, and decided to start my company in 1996 as a way to help fund my collection, which remains its main purpose to this day.

Me downtown in Kandahar - August 2009

Vimy Militaria was started as a part-time venture, and my responsibilities as an officer in the Canadian Army, over a service career that spanned 35 years, have obliged me in the past to privilege this service over time for myself, leading to long periods when the company's business was on hiatus. In the wake of my recent retirement, my intent is to run Vimy Militaria full-time, and I look forward to renewing my relationships with old clients, and reaching new ones, in the years to come.

I'll offer some thoughts about medal collecting, and my motivations both as a collector and as a militaria dealer. The collecting of British and British Commonwealth medals is a long-standing hobby that first gained popularity amongst British Army officers as early as the 1850s, when the general issue of service medals to members of the British Army as a practice was in its relative infancy. These early collectors were motivated by an interest in studying and learning about the campaigns that had led to these awards, as well as a strong identification with the soldiers who had earned them. This interest in military history, and identification with service medal recipients, through either personal military service, or the service of a family member, continues to be one of the predominant motivations of collectors today. Periodic public debate about the appropriateness of medal collecting as a hobby, or the sale of medals for profit, frequently ignores the reason for collectors' interest in these awards, as well as the positive impacts these generate, which include the perpetuation of the memory of the service of the man or woman who earned the award, careful active stewardship and custody, and the generation of new knowledge through research. My own collecting, which has gone on for over 40 years, is motivated by my strong identification, through my service, with those who went before me. This fact, as while as my undying respect for all who have served, underlies my commitment to the hobby, and the pleasure I gain from interacting with like-minded collectors who share my interest in active stewardship of Canada's military material culture.

I encourage you to share my website address with your collecting friends, and to visit my site from time to time. I also encourage you to send me your 'wants' lists, as I am happy to notify clients when items of interest come in.

I hope you enjoy my site and encourage you to offer any suggestions you may have as to how I might serve you better.

Best wishes,

Jim Godefroy