It all started as a bit of a hobby,’ says Dean Johnson who runs Manx Medal Services.

As a child, he was ‘army barmy’, collecting all sorts of militaria, including uniforms, before becoming completely fascinated by medals. And not only the medals themselves, but researching the stories behind them.

‘The medal is only the start of the story. For me it’s more a case of bringing the story to life rather than acquiring the medal,’ he says.

Dean’s medal collection took on an extra dimension after he spent time in Afghanistan where he was working as part of an expeditionary force, in charge of keeping eight units supplied with all the necessities of life ‘from Mars bars to Andrex toilet rolls’.

He says: ‘My role was relatively low risk but we were still rocketed on average once a day. When I came back from Afghanistan I had a totally different appreciation of what [war] is like.

‘I just didn’t have the words to describe it. It’s a sensory experience that words cannot convey.’

This, Dean believes, is one of the reasons why the generations involved in the last two World Wars had a reputation for not talking about their experiences. And this has also meant that many families have medals that were awarded to family members who have since died without ever telling them the stories behind them.

He says: ‘Even now there are people coming back from smaller campaigns such as the evacuation of Kabul – how do you describe something like that?’

When people come to him with a medal awarded to a family member and want to know more about it, Dean enjoys researching and discovering the stories behind them.

He says: ‘This is a service I can provide to other people who want to know more about their medals: I can provide a bit of information and background and give them an insight into what their relative did.

‘To unlock that is significant and it is a wonderful feeling when people say to me: “I never knew he had done that.”

‘You can never replace the sentiment attached to a family medal.’

All the medals in Dean’s personal collection were awarded to men and women connected with the Isle of Man.

The oldest medal in his collection is from the Crimean War, dating back to the 1850s.

Dean says: ‘It was awarded to a chap who had been born inside Castle Rushen.

‘His mother must have been what they called a “follower”, who was paid to cook, clean and mend uniforms and his father would have been a solider garrisoned there.

‘He had followed in his father’s footsteps. He fought in the Crimea and was wounded, then fought in the Indian Mutiny and was wounded, so he must have been quite a battle-hardened veteran at the end of it.’

Demand for Dean’s services has increased partly because of new medals being issued.

For example, this year, the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee medal was awarded to around 450,000 serving members of the armed forces, frontline emergency and prison services.

If you have some old medals sitting at the back of a drawer, maybe it’s time to get them spruced up and discover the story behind them?

• You can contact Dean through his Facebook page, Manx Medal Services.