N386950 Edward Wilson

N386950 Edward Wilson was one of many Australian WWII servicemen who did not go overseas but provided valuable service during the war years. He number indicates that he was not part of the militia who volunteered to go overseas and it would appear that due to his experience on the land he was employed in that capacity. His unit on discharge was 2 Farm Coy. Based on this is it likely that Wilson would have received the Defence Medal, the War Medal and the Australian Service Medal 1939-1945. It is his Defence Medal that has been sent to me.
The search for Wilson's family was a little difficult, but through the fantastic assistance of the Australian Surname Group, a Wilson family tree was found on the Internet. This led Bill to look at Wilson's siblings, one of which was Albert Wilson who died as a POW in Borneo. Bill eventually tracked down a niece. He was known as 'Ted' to the family and I'll send his Defence Medal to her in the very near future.
The medal returned tally is now 563.

For those who take an interest in different naming styles and variations you can see that the 'E' is lightly struck in comparrison to the rest of the letters.

John McAllister Vincent

In earlier posts I have told the story of some of the more unusual items that we are asked to research and find the family. This particular story is of a memorial plaque erected in honour of a Australian soldier from WWII but later removed. Thanks to the dedication of a small group of people the memory of this soldier will live on.

This is Bill's story so I'll let him tell it:
'His service number VX659, and his date of enlistment the 4th September 1939, the day after the then Australian Prime Minister, Mr. Robert Menzies announced that Australia was now at war with Germany, and John's choice of Service the Medical Corps, the 2/1 Field Ambulance in particular. Tragically John was Killed in Action at Canea, Crete in 1941, and like so many of the young men who fell during the battle John has no known grave. Other than his place in the Australian War Memorial Honour Roll, his only remembrance is his commemoration is on the Wall of Honour at the Athens Memorial, Phaleron Cemetery, Athens, Greece.
But such a memorial was in the future, and too far away for the office staff at Melbourne University, who subscribed to pay for a plaque in his memory. If you consider the size of the office staff at the time, to have lost such a young member must have had a devastating effect upon those remaining.
The plaque was I believe erected in the 1940's, unfortunately with the passage of time, and the retirement of staff, much of the original history has been lost.
But as the Administration offices were rebuilt and later expanded, the plaque was moved, surviving each rebuilding, until 5-6 years ago, when the Raymond Priestly building where the plaque had last resided, was renovated, and a decision was made at the time that it (the plaque) did not fit in with the 'modern pristine white/green foyer'.
At this time fortunately one member of the staff with the help of several building maintenance staff 'rescued' the plaque, it being his intent to trace its history, and if possible contact John's family and perhaps more importantly have the plaque remounted.
For some time now the plaque has as its carer has moved also moved, occupying the space under different desks, as he researched the history of the plaque, unfortunately at the time he was unable to locate the family. It was only just recently with 11th November on the horizon that he again started to search. It was then that he found out the source of his major stumbling block, on the plaque John's name was given as John MacAllister Vincent, but there was no record of such a person having served. It was only with the advent of the new online search program that allows for variations in spelling of names, that he discovered that the Army had recorded John's name as John McAllister Vincent.
It was at this time that he posted of to various friends the story of the search and his problems, one recipient of the email, a member of the Watsonia RSL club, and who himself had retired from the University 5 years ago, contacted me with a request for help, and the rest is as they say history.
To say John's family is happy is an understatement, they always knew of the plaque, but where it had disappeared to, that was the great unknown.
Now the final stage is yet to be set, and the plaque, that friends and colleagues contributed to honour the memory of a brave young man, awaits the final act.'

Well done Bill.

WWI RAN medal

The majority of medals I deal with are those awarded to WWI AIF soldiers. Every now and then something extraordinary comes my way. This week I received the 1914-15 Star awarded to ON2725 ORD SEA Sydney George Burley. The service record details are a lot less than what is available for a soldier but there was enough detail to work out movements around Australia. The next lead I followed was to Burley's son also named Sydney George Burley who served during WWII. Then the trail ran cold.

It was time for the experts to step in and Bill and the Yuki ladies put it all together. From initial contact by the person who donated the medal to me until we contacted the family was two weeks (thank you ladies). The story of Sydney and his medals is full of gaps. It was found in the possession of a chap who died last year, why he had it or how he came by it is anyone's guess. How it left the Burley family is also a mystery. None of that really matters now as I'll be returning the medal to Burley's great grandson who is a serving member of the Australian Army so I know it will be in very good hands.

The medal returned tally is now 562.

Zaltzman - A follow up

The story of the return of two WWII medals to the family of Joseph Zaltzman was posted here on 30 September. As I corresponded with the family they kindly provided me with a couple of photos of Joseph, one of which I posted. I felt a special link by seeing what Joseph looked like.
After our email contact, I sent Joseph's medals to his nephew in Israel and they have arrived safely. I received a great email today that talks about the reaction of the family and I thought I would share just a small part of it to show what receiving these medals back means to the family:

"I told it to my Mom, ...., she is lighting candles once a week for each of the family who passed away, on Monday the day the medals arrived she lighted a candle to his memory, Joseph left Israel at 1937, she was 9 at that time, they were very close at that time, the second time she saw him was around 1960, 23 years after that – she was 32, a big gap to abridge."

VX57411 John Driver

I often receive one medal from a group, in this case the 1939-45 Star awarded to VX57411 John Driver. A single medal and the condition it is in often makes me wonder where the others are and what it has been through. In this case I now know Driver's medals were stolen in 1980, where it has been since then and where the rest of the group are is a mystery.

The returned medal tally is now 561.

WWI Trio

The WWI trio awarded to 3533 PTE James Henry Douglas Wigginton came to me from an unusual source. They were found in a military barracks in Tasmania, they have been court mounted for display in recent years. The concerned Army officer who found them had no idea where they came from so contacted me. Wigginton came from Sydney, however, there is a letter on his service record from a Millie Wigginton, dated 1950, saying that she has moved to Tasmania for health reasons. She also write that James was killed in a work place accident at the Commonwealth Bank in Martin Place Sydney. Millie says that all she has is his medals and this explains how they came to be in Tasmania.

Wigginton had a hard time during his service. As can be seen in his service record he spent a lot of time in hospital for appendicitis, septic foot, shell shock and VD. He was also court martialed for being AWOL and sentenced to 6 months detention.

Medals returned tally is now 560.

A very small research world

I've had the WWII medals and dog tags belonging to NX109001 Peter O'Halloran for several years. They were sent to my after being found in a WA tip. Bill has been chipping away and a post on our favorite family research web site drew an almost immediate reply from a member who knows the family. I'm sure there is more to this story and I'll post it when I have all the details.

Medal returned tally is now 557.

Another international return

51892 Joseph Zaltzman was one of those Australian servicemen who is not from the typical Anglo-Saxon background but none the less answered the call to serve. Born in Petricov, Russia, he moved to Australia and served in the RAAF. His family settled in Israel, however, Joseph became a nationalised Australian. He died in 1970 in Sydney.

We ran in to many dead ends while searching for his family and as it turned out a misspelling of his surname when he died did not help us.

Today I received a fantastic email from one of Joseph's relatives who lives in Tel Aviv. They had come across Joseph's name on our website.

The medals have had a bit of a hard life and as can be seen in the pictures the suspenders have been broken off.

The last photo has been provided to me by the family. The man in the suit is Joseph, the picture was taken overlooking the Bay of Haifa and taken around 1960-61 when Joseph visted his family in Israel.

The returned medal tally is now 554.

Norris update

Recently we returned a WWI trio awarded to 1028 Lance Sergeant William Norris. The family have very kindly provided some photos that make this story come to life. The following is the contents of an email I received:

'I thought the attached pictures of the field hospital at Rennes in 1917, presumably taken with Father's camera, might be of interest. My father is the one with his arm in a sling (because of the shrapnel damage). The snaps were sent to my mother by one of the nurses in the picture. She remembered how he helped more seriously wounded patients.'

Thank you Barbara.

WWI POW Pair

This pair of WWI medals was awarded to 3678 CPL Arthur Frederick Atkins who was Prisoner of War after being listed as missing in action in April 1917. He was eventually repatriated in December 1918. As you can see by the pictures the ribbons have deteriorated considerably.
Medal returned tally is now 552.

A punt that paid off

I recently received the WWII War Medal awarded to NX135212 Joseph William Browning. It was sent to me from a contact in Australia Post who forwards me medals that come loose in the mail. All I could find out about Browning is that he was from Lismore, NSW.

I've previously had considerable luck locating people in this region by placing a letter to the editor in the Northern Star paper. So I took a punt and wrote to them again and sure enough they published my letter in this mornings edition and tonight I received emails from two of his daughters. I'll return the medal to the family very soon. In the picture you will see a 'D' after Browning's name, this indicates the medal is an officially issued duplicate.

The medal tally is now 550.

WWI Trio

The WWI trio awarded to 1028 Lance Sergeant William Richard Norris come with a very interesting story. When I first accessed his service record I came across a very unusual entry. Norris was court martialed for possessing a camera and taking photos. Today every soldier has a camera on them and they take photos of everything. To read about this particular is a real reflection of the times. Norris was also wounded in action and I'm told by his daughter that he carried shrapnel in his shoulder all his life.

His medals are in near mint condition having never been worn and still have the original ribbon.

This brings the medal returned tally to 549.

General Service Medal - Royal Signals

I usually only post the story of a medal after we have located the veteran or family. In this case I thought I would list a medal with pictures in the hope that I might get a hit if someone does an Internet search for him.

This search is for 24018769 SIG L.H. Jefferies Royal Signals. His GSM, with Malay Peninsula clasp, was found in a house in Canberra. It is believed that someone by the name of Jefferies lived in that house, but not recently.

I've had no luck with any enquiries back to the Royal Signals Association nor through some other contacts I have. I have one option which I'll try next week but in the mean time here are some pictures of Jefferies' GSM.

Where do the medals come from?

I'm often asked where I get all the medals from. In the welcome post and on our website I mentioned that I started out by buying medals but now all are donated to me. Those donations come from Government agencies, members of the public, ex-service organisations or police services. Those that come from police services have either been handed in after having been found or are recovered from a theft. I'm always happy to accept these donations and do the research to locate the family.

This WWI Victory Medal is one example of a medal being forward to me by the Victorian Police, with who I have a fantastic relationship. The soldier, 3215 LCPL Richard William Newport was from WA and enlisted in 28th Bn. He saw active service in France. Following discharge he moved to Victoria and he obviously lost his medal while living there. However, the search for his family lead Bill back to WA where we located Newport's nephew.

The returned medal tally now stands at 546.

QX59310 Hal Stephen Byrne

One of the links on the right hand side of this blog is to the Australian Surname Genealogy Group. These wonderful researchers have been very helpful and kind to us as we look in tot eh back ground of Australian servicemen as we try to locate their families. This particular case is yet another example of the great assistance provided by the 'Yuku Ladies' as Bill calls them.

This WWII War Medal awarded to QX59310 Hal Stephen Byrne is now on its way back to the family and is the 545 medal returned by Lost Medals Australia.

LT Maffra William MacVean

In a previous post I described how I often get requests to research military items other than medals. I have recently been sent a silver cigarette case inscribed with the name LIEUT MACVANE. Maffra Willaim Bushby MacVean was awarded the Military Cross in 1917 for actions in the Pozieres area. He survived the war.
While MacVean married he didn't have any children. However, we managed to track his family through another military connection. His nephew was Admiral Gordon John Brantone Crabb who was awarded the DSC during WWII.

A very difficult search

This search has proved to be very difficult. VX149934 William Offer served with 12th Small Ships Company which is a rather well known Australian Army unit from WWII. Unfortunately, the trail for a family member went cold with William having had no children. Bill did some fantastic research to work his way through the family of William's sister and find the closest relative that we could.

Medals returned tally is now 543.

A great book for kids

In the Military Related Links on the right hand side of this page is a link to Your Defence. This site is a fantastic resource for ADF families.
The ADF kids books is a great idea for helping to explain to the children of ADF service personnel what it is that their parents do in uniform. I think it will also go a long way to help the broader community understand what military life is all about.
Of particular delight to me is the Army edition which includes a picture of my medals. This entry explains what the slang word 'gongs' means.

What has this medal been through?

This medal has had a very hard life. It is the WWII War Medal awarded to NX162773 Harold Francis Horton. As you can see from the pictures the suspender has broken away from the medal. Also the impressing on the edge is not very distinct. I suspect that at some point someone has tried to remove the naming. Finally the medal is very dirty particularly around the text on the obverse. Despite all this we have found the family and the medal will be returned very soon.

The medal returned tally is now 539.

WWI DOW medal

2LT Gordon Minto Browne enlisted (no 517) on 21 November 1915 and was allocated to 42nd Bn. He was eventually commissioned and wounded very late in the war and died of his wounds on 2 October 1918 at Mont St Quentin, France. He is buried at Tincourt New British Cemetery (Plot V, Row J, Grave No. 3), France.

The medal has had a very hard life having lost its suspender. This is the 538 medal returned by Lost Medals Australia.

WWII group of 5

This group of five WWII medals awarded to QX11131 John James Mossison has been with me for a bit over three years. Bill did some great research to track down the family and the medals will be returned next week.
Medal returned tally is now 537.

WA medal

This Africa Star to WX11265 John Goydon Curtis has been lost for some time and was only recently sent to me. Once again Bill's good work quickly located the family. The rest of the group are still missing but this one will head home soon.
The medal returned tally is now 532.

3266 SGT Edward Snell

3266 SGT Edward Snell was born in Queensland but spent some time in WA before WWI. He followed the gold rush as he puts his trade down as a miner and he served in the Goldfields Regiment. When he enlisted his father lived in Marble Bar, WA and that is where Snell was buried in 1960. His medal was sent to me from Dampier, another town in the North West of WA. The medal has had a hard life with the suspender bent and several dents. However, it is on its way back to the family. I would like to make special mention of Jade who was able to find and check the missing records for accuracy. This ultimately assisted us locating the family.


The medal returned tally is now 531.

3 Minutes

Today I received a medal in the mail that was not familiar to me. Just by looking at the medal it wasn't hard to work out it is a Vietnam War commemorative medal. That is a non-official medal. The details on the edge are: W.S. McLean 7158. Once I got home form the post office I looked up McLean on the Vietnam War nominal roll. He originally came from Kingaroy. There is one W Smith listed in the Whitepages so I took a punt and rang the number. Sure enough it is the same man. From the time I sat at the computer until the time I confirmed this was his medal took a total of 3 three minutes.

Medal returned tally 530.

Gallipoli Died of Wounds

618 William Middlebrook was a member of 14th Bn, he arrived at Gallipoli in May 1915. He received a gunshot wound on 27 May and was evacuated to a hospital ship. He died of wounds on 29 May 1915 and was buried at sea. His medal entitlement was the 1914-15 Star, The British War Medal and the Victory Medal were sent to his brother Thomas. At some point they have been lost and were recently handed in to the Victorian Police who sent them to me.

The medal returned tally is now 529.

Who is online?

For the last month I have had a new online map for this blog. It shows where someone has viewed from in the previous 24 hours and who is online at the moment with a flashing green symbol. I find it very interesting to see where people are viewing from, especially when I'm on line at the same time.
Thank you for visiting this blog and this link will show you as being online.

This return is to the niece of NX 24326 R.T. Madden. Bill has been very frustrated with this search but some fantastic help from the Australian Surnames Group. I would like to quote Bill here:
'So when you put up the Blog can you mention the ladies of YUKKI and the lovely Sharon, and Charlee who provided the break through, in particular Sharon when she suggested that I discard the 'death notice' I had for a Mary Jane MARTIN and go back to the beginning. Which is what I did and now 7 months later. Were there..'.


The tally of medals returned is now 527.

Duplicate set and going home

This set came to us from the Queensland Police Service. These are an officially issued duplicate set and marked with a 'D', awarded to VX12431 John Lewis Brown. The medal returned tally is now 522.

Lost in the post

One of the organisations I have a great relationship with is Australia Post. My contact, Jackie, is a really fantastic lady and she collects medals that come adrift in the post and forwards them to me. Between us we have returned many medals to families. This return is a bit different. Jackie sent me four medals recently and as it turned out they originated from a coin and medal dealer. So through the dealer they are going back to the rightful owner. Medals returned tally is now 518.

A family group

This return is unusual in several ways. The medals are to WF45520 Jessie Ellen Wallace and WX37834 David Ross Winsor. They came to me mounted as groups ready to wear. It took a bit to work out that Jessie and David were married which is the first married couple I've had medals to.
The second unusual thing was the condition of the medals. They are in mint condition. I had recently been reading the book 'Australians Awarded' by Clive Johnson and I came across a comment about different types of the Defence Medal and the Australian Service Medal. I hadn't realised that there were later productions due to the original production run having been all used up. The original type had the designers initials under the King's head. The later types had no initials. Also medals issued after 1992 were named using pantograph rather than being impressed. So these medals have no initial and named in pantograph. There is no 'D' to indicate they are officially issued duplicates. From all this I believe they are late issue medals.



Medal returned tally is 514.

A local return

I was recently sent a Vietnam War Campaign awarded to 6709604 Douglas Robert Kilpatrick. He served with 2nd Advanced Ordnance Depot. I had a bit of trouble tracking him down however, the key was a electoral roll entry that Bill found. This lead was exactly right and I spoke to Doug today. I'll return his medal in the very near future and since he and I live in the same city, I do this return in person. The medal returned tally is now 509.

5163 PTE Fredrick Pearson

The BWM awarded to 5163 PTE Fredrick Pearson was sent to me almost 2 years ago. Pearson was a bit of a lad and got in to a bit of trouble. He was also wounded on several occasions. His service record is pretty interesting. Returned medal tally is 508.

Gilpin

In April, I received the WWII group of four awarded to NX108259 Keith Lyall Gilpin. These medals are in mint condition, they have never been mounted or worn. This brings to 507 the number of medals that Lost Medals Australia has returned.

WOFF Braid

It is a real privilege to return medals to a veteran who is still alive. In this case the veteran is RAAF WOFF 32531 Donald Nicol Braid. I had a great chat with him last night and very soon I'll be sending him two of his WWII medals.

The returned medal tally is 503.

2646 PTE W.V. Flanagan

This medal has had a pretty tough life. 2646 PTE William Vincent Flanagan was KIA on 7 Jun 1917 (92 years ago tomorrow) and the medal was sent to his mother. The medal has lost its suspender and is rather dented. I've had it for about 8 years so where it has been during the intervening period is anyone's guess. This is medal number 501 returned by Lost Medals Australia.

Number 500

Today Lost Medals Australia has reached a significant milestone. The return of the WWI BWM to the family of 3265 Frank Freer Connors is the 500th medal that has been returned by Lost Medals Australia.

Leonard Edward Foster

I have had the medals awarded to Leonard Edward Forster for over five years, so the resolution of this search is very satisfying. Once again, Bill is to be congratulated on putting all the pieces in place. This takes the tally to 499 medals returned.

An overdue update

As you can see from my last post I have been overseas for a bit. While I have been away Bill has been doing some wonderful research. He has located six families with considerable help from our friends at The Australian Surnames Group. I've also been contacted by one family. Here are some photos and links to service records.

513 Claude Henry Jarmain 5 LHR

7535 PTE William Pearce 3rd Bn

NX153520 Jack McCabe

VX123415 John Lube O'Dwyer

118261 William Tonkin

The tally of medals that have been returned to veterans or families is now 496.

A meeting worth waiting for

I have mentioned before that we very rarely meet the families who we return medals to. When we do it is a very special occasion and we have tried to put photos here or on the web site. This week I did meet with a family and it was a memorable occasion.

On 27 Mar 09 I reported that we had located the family of 335 T-CPL George Clifford . The family live in England so my initial thought was to pop the medal in the mail. My wife, Anna, later said she could see the wheels slowly turning over as I put all the pieces in place. As it happened we had a trip to England planned so I suggested to Rob, who is related to Clifford, that I bring the medal to London for him. That plan fell in place and on 4 May I met Rob, and his wife Cathy, and returned the medal to them. We had a wonderful day with them and here are some photos of Rob and me in Kensington Gardens.

SX 38114 TPR Thomas Sutton

Some of the searches that we do turn out to be very easy, others are far more difficult. The quickest search I've done took 17 minutes from the time I got the medal to the time I spoke to the family. On the other hand I have medals that I purchased over 8 years ago and I've made little progress with.
Today I received a medal at 1130. It was handed to me by a gent who works in the same complex as me. At 1210 I spoke to the brother of SX 38114 Trooper Thomas Stanley Godden Sutton and arranged for the medal to sent to him. Sutton served in the 1st Armoured Car Regiment after enlisting in 1944. He served through to 1947 and died in 1954. This search was made easy by the unusual middle names that Sutton had. I used these to locate where he died. I then looked up the name in the White Pages and there were two listings in that town. I took a punt and the first number I called was the brother. This is the 479th medals returned by Lost Medals Australia.

136273 Wallace Campbell

The Internet is fantastic for locating people. We use it a lot to trace veterans and then find their families. Often the reverse occurs. All over the Internet I have posted the names of people we are looking for and family members come across these posts.
This is exactly what happened in this case, the daughter of 136273 Wallace Campbell came across our list on the NSW RSL web site and followed the links to me. Today I'll send back Campbell's medals to his family. The medals returned tally is now 478.

NX102698 Eric Granter

Lost Medals Australia has had a very successful fortnight. The medals returned count now sits at 475.

One of the latest returns is the WWII War Medal awarded to NX102698 Eric Granter. Bill tracked down Granter's nephew and the initial response was that the full medal group was together. However, on closer inspection it was discovered that the War Medal in the group was an unnamed replica. So now the original War Medal has been returned to the family and the group has been reunited.

This search, along with many others, has only been possible due to the fantastic work of Charlee, Jenn, Liz and Sharon from the Australian Surname Group. Thank you ladies.

VX79017 Allen James Flowers

Allen Flower's medals were stolen about 15 years ago but now one of his medals will be returned to Allen. As can be seen from the picture the medal has had a very hard time while it has been lost. (Medal returned count 473).

NGX466/NGX57 John Francis Morell

John Morell enlisted in Rabual and is listed with the service number NGX57 and NGX466. More importantly Morell was a POW aboard the Montevideo Maru a Japanese transport ship that was sunk by the US Sturgeon off the Philippines in 1942. (Medal returned count 472).

Andrew Whyte Watson

Usually I receive a single medal, sometimes a couple of medals or even the whole group awarded to a soldier. However, every so often I receive an item in the mail that is something special. In April 05 I received a photo album which told the life story of Andrew Whyte Watson. The album contained hi biography, his service history from his days in the RN Naval Division, his WWI and WWII medals and many family photos.
Watson served as C. Z-4268 AB Watson in the RNVR during WWI. He then served as NX131477 SGT Watson in the 2nd AIF.

Thanks to Bill's hard research work the album will be returned to the family in the very near future. Below are photos of Watson's medals. (Medal returned count is 466).

A good week

The last week has been very productive for Lost Medals Australia. The Penman family groups, listed below, was a big return. Since then the medals returned number has jumped to 459. This has included a National Service Medal and a couple more WWI medals.

The first WWI medal is the BWM awarded to 335 T-CPL George Clifford. The family are currently living in England so this is another international return.

The second group is the WWI pair to 1927 PTE John Ryan.

Penman family medals

Recently I received a box in the mail with no return address that contained 8 medals all awarded to members of the Penman family. The medals were named to the following:

1914-15 Star to S-7324 PTE A. PENMAN. R. HIGHRS

BWM to S-7324 PTE A. PENMAN. R.HIGHRS

Victory Medal to 17971 PTE W. PENMAN. CAMERONS

1914-15 Star 32960 PTE A. PENMAN R.A.M.C.

39-45 ASM W243016 A. PENMAN

War Medal W243016 A. PENMAN

WWII pair to WX36331 PTE David Douglas Penman who was KIA aged 19 in 1943.

My initial research showed that the recipients were William, Archibald and Alexander Penman. David Penman was Alexander's son. Sandra, from WA, did some wonderful research for me and put me in touch with a member of the family and I'll be sending the medals back to WA in the near future. This brings the medals returned total to 455.

Henry Brain

This search has been very frustrating but once again Bill triumphed and this 1914-15 Star awarded to 408 Henry Brain can now be returned to the family. The medal returned number is now 447.

Military Medal and Plaque

For a few weeks we have been researching the Military Medal (MM) awarded to 4346 Granville Victor Johnson. Bill, with Leonie's help, recently located the family of this soldier and the medal has been sent to me to forward on to the family. With the MM was the Memorial Plaque presented to the family after Johnson was KIA on 14 Sep 18. This now takes the medals returned total to 446.

Media activities

Lost Medals Australia has had a bit of media exposure lately. The article below appeared in the 5 Mar edition of Army News (unfortunately I could save the article and the picture). Today I did a radio interview with ABC Radio, the interviewer is Alex Slone.

Thomson

Today we have been in contact with the family of 25971 GNR Charles Gordon Thomson. This medal is well travelled. Thomson was originally from Melbourne but moved to WA. The family remained in WA but the medal turned up in NSW before being sent to me. Soon this BWM will be on its way back to WA. It is the 444th medal returned by Lost Medals Australia.

Leslie

I have posted the photos of the BWM awarded to 1178 SGT Arthur George Leslie before. I find the naming on this medal interesting as Leslie was part of the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force that was formed separate to the AIF with the task of securing German territories and radio stations in the South West Pacific.

This time the photos are being posted to mark the return of this medal to the family. This is medal 443 that Lost Medals Australia has returned.

Benton

When I commenced returning medals my only source of medals was to buy them from second hand stores and the like. It didn't take long until organisations like the RSL asked me to take on the task of researching medals that had been handed in to them. I now have very few of those first purchased medals left to return.
Once such group is the WWII broken group to SX28928 Leslie James Benton which I purchased in 2000. So after over 8 years Lost Medals Australia has now returned these medals to Benton's son. Where they have been before I purchased them is a mystery. As can be seen in the pictures they are fire damaged so have had a pretty hard life.
The medals returned number now stands at 442.

Hinde

This week Lost Medals Australia located the family of NX194818 Christoper Duncan Hinde. The medals have now been sent back to the family bringing the total number of medals returned to 439.

Diggles

Lost Medals Australia is very pleased to return the WWII War Medal to the family of QX24178 Robert Diggles. This medal has been separated from the rest of Robert's medals so this return will reunite the group. While it has been lost it has had a hard life. It is quite tarnished and as you can see from the picture the engraving is a little hard to read.

This medal is number 432 that has been returned.

McKeown, Wilton and Gibbons

The Internet has proved to be the key enabler for a couple of the last few returns we have made.
The family of 128 PTE Leslie Henry McKeown came across McKeown's name on our lost medals list and contacted me direct.

Then on the same day a WWII group of 5 awarded to NX 45446 Beverly Robert Wilton arrived in the post. It took me a very short period of time to find that a notice had been put on the NSW RSL website looking for these medals.


Bill has demonstrated his superb research skill once again by tracking down the family of 36611 DV Frederick Francis Gibbons.


The number of medals returned by Lost Medals Australia is now 424.

2894 DVR J.W. Fell 2nd Light Horse Signal Troop

I have recently received the BWM awarded to John Walter Fell. Fell was born in Sydney in 1888 and enlisted in 1916 aged 27. His occupation is listed as Commercial Traveller and his unit on enlistment is given as 6th Light Horse Regiment.

His family consists of the following;

Parents:

Walter John Fell and Elizabeth Margaret

Siblings:

William Alexander Fell

Margaret Elizabeth Fell

Alexander Arthur Fell (also served in 6 LH and 2 LH Sig Tp)

Another medal to be returned

Some of the returns that we do are tinged with sadness. It amazes me the number of times that we locate a family shortly after the veteran has died. This is another such case. Bill has come through again and located the NOK of NX166745 Roy Birdwood Manuel. Roy died last February. I'll post his WWII War medal to the family tomorrow.
This takes the total number of medals returned to 418.

An overdue update

Since June 08 I have been very busy with a couple of ADF related activities and I have not posted as regularly as I would have liked. However, Lost Medals Australia has been very active. Since the last post a further 17 medals have been returned. This post will bring everything up to date.
In October, Scott was a crucial link between the Directorate of Honours and Awards and the family of Bombardier Jack Grimm and assisted in returning a WWII group of 5.

The next medal returned was a South Vietnam medal awarded to 15518 SGT James Dempsey. This medal was returned to his sister.

We seem to have had a run of luck with Vietnam War medals. The next two that were returned were to 43436 PTE Anthony Rowe. Rowe served with 709 Signal Troop and survived his tour in Vietnam only to be tragically killed in a motor vehicle accident shortly upon his RTA.

Bill is responsible for the research on the last two entries as well as locating the sister of VX106770 Charles Clifford Smith. This return saw a WWII group of four sent back to the family. Interesting to note that the naming on the medal rim has C.C.C. Smith rather than C.C. Smith.

Once again Bill came good with the next return, this time to the widow of VX11338 J.A. O'Donohue.

The next two returns are as a direct result of people searching the Internet and coming across medals we have listed on the Lost Medals Australia web site. The first was to WOII Robert Anderson. The medals are featured on the 19 May 08 entry below. I was contacted by a cousin of Balfour and have returned the medals. These medals are well travelled. Anderson was from VIC, the medals came to me from WA and the family is in QLD.

The next pair is to 4204 PTE Albert Rutherford. These medals will be returned to Rutherford's nephew.

Recently, both the Lost Medals Australia website and this blog have received a high volume of hits. This has resulted in many requests for assistance. I anticipate that in the near future there will be several groups, including a WWII MM being sent to me. The last thing to say at this point is that Lost Medals Australia has now returned 417 medals.

400th medals returned

Lost Medals Australia has reached a significant mile stone. This week I returned the 400th medal to a veteran or a member of their family.
This return was of the WWII war medal awarded to NX84054 Jack Rogers. His grand daughter contacted me after stumbling across his name which I had posted on the web.
I am very excited about this particular return.

Another world wide search

Earlier this year I received a WWII group of four medals awarded to John McCallum, RN. They came in their box of issue and the sailor's name and address was on the box. Since British WWII medals were not engraved the name and postal address were the only clue.

I tracked down a relative who is unfortunately deceased but his son is a well know actor who currently resides in the US. So I wrote to him and I have received a positive reply. I'll forward the medals to him in the near future.

The trail for this group is as follows. A British serviceman's medals were sent to me in Australia. The closest relative I can find is in the US and there are still family in Scotland.

This brings the returned medal count to 399.

.

Lost Medals Australia goes global

This story is one of a world wide search. The soldier at the center of this search was John Wellesley Flood. Flood served as a Medical Officer with the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force.
The request for Lost Medals Australia assistance came from Bob D who lives in Portsmouth, Virginia, USA. Flood's BWM had come in to Bob's Grand Father's possession when he won it in a Poker game. The family kept the medal until Bob contacted us. The search turned out to be very involved and Bill had to recruit authors, web site owners and an assortment of other contacts to eventually locate a nephew of Flood's wife Rose, Richard. As it turns out Richard lives in France. So a BWM issued to an Australian Doctor ends up in the USA and is returned to a family member in France.

A long search has now ended

One medal that has haunted me for some time has been the BWM awarded to 1856 PTE James Barrington -Kersland, Camel Corps. B-K intrigued me because of his service during WWI and WWII, his life as a journalist and some of the correspondence that is in his service record. The medal itself was also interesting because a medal to a Camel Corps member is pretty rare. I also know it's value and I've had several offers to buy it off me.

I had come to a dead end some time ago and the leads ran out at the Fawkner Cemetery in Melbourne. I went as far as to visit the grave site of B-K and his wife Lizzie in the hope that there was a grave stone that might give a clue to other family members. Unfortunately, the grave sites are bare plots with only the plot number visible after some cleaning. I was even tempted to bury the medal at the plot.

Once again Bill has come through with the contact details for a family member. This brings the medals returned count to 386.

WWII RAN group on the way home

I received this group of six awarded to 22085 John Stanley Irving, RAN last year and we have been chipping away at the research. Bill recently put all the clues of a very complicated search together and located relatives in NSW. I'll be sending the medals back to then in the near future. The returned medal count is now 384.

Update

A couple of posts down I have shown the Dodds medal that arrived recently. The medal is in pretty poor condition but there is enough information visible on the rim to identify the soldier. I'm happy to report that the family have been located and the medal is on the way home. This brings the medal count to 378.

Before this blog was established I located the son of PTE Kelwyn Egan and sent a Vietnam War pair to him. Yesterday I received this photo of Kelwyn being reunited with his medal. Also pictured is his son Kelly.

WWII group of 5 returned

Earlier this year Bill received a group of 5 WWII medals awarded to VX 23560 George Frederick Oldham. George was a POW and died on the Burma-Siam Railroad. These pictures are of the the medals and George's niece and nephew. The family are very grateful to get these medals back and are also quite emotional.

Another surprise arrived in the mail today

Today I received the Long Service and Good Conduct (Military) Medal with clasp Australia. It is the first one I've come across and this one was awarded to 1699 WOII Robert Balfour Anderson. Anderson was in the Australian Instructional Corps. He was given permission to serve in the AIF in 1918 and enlisted as 60636 SGT R.B. Anderson 7 Bn, AIF. I'm not sure what happened in the inter war years however, during WWII he again enlisted, this time as VX10141 WOI R.B. Anderson . The only lead I have is that he enlisted for WWI in Ararat in Victoria. I have a reference that indicates that only 288 of these medals were issued. Also in package was Anderson's BWM.

Another WWI pair is on the way home

In 2003 the QLD RSL forwarded to me a WWI pair awarded to 11204 SGT John Gordon Harris. The medal indicates he was in the Divisional Supply Column however, his service record says Div Motor Transport Company. This pair makes 379 medals that have been returned. Pictures of the rims are below. Also the Lost Medals Australia web site has recently been updated.

It always amazes me what turns up in the mail

Yesterday a medal arrived in the mail that has had a real hard life. It was provided by a gent who has had it for many years. I have previously done some research for him which saw a medal returned to a veteran, so now it is time to look into this one.

The medal, a BWM, has several large dings where it has been dropped and it has lost its suspender. Even worse, it is obvious that at some point someone has tried to remove the name. There are flat spots on the rim and at several points the details are almost gone. Luckily there are enough details to identify the soldier as 2629 Errol Wilson Dobbs .

WWI medals to brothers

For some time I've been researching the BWM and Victory Medals awarded to 3808 PTE John Peel and 3452 PTE Robert Peel, both who served in 1st Bn, AIF. Once again again Bill joined all the dots and we have now located the great nephew of the Peel brothers. The medals will be returned to the family in the near future. This photo shows the rim of all four medals named to the Peel brothers. The medals returned count now stands at 376.

This time it's a dog tag

Over the years I've been sent several dog tags that people would like returned. Today Bill tracked down the Great Great Nephew of 3625 John Alfred Nelson who was KIA on 17 Aug 1916. I'll put this dog tag in the mail tomorrow and it should be back with the family by Anzac Day.

Three more medals are going home

I have had a hectic couple of days at Lost Medals Australia. Here are photos and short stories of the three medals that are on their way home.
The first medal arrived in the post yesterday afternoon. It is a WWI Victory Medal awarded to 52650 A-CPL John Munt, 11th LH. The sure name is unusual and there were clues about his children in the service record. This provided more leads on the Internet and following an educated guess I phoned Munt's grand daughter. The total time it took me to locate the family was about 15 hours.






The second medal that is going home this week is also a WWI Victory Medal. This one was awarded to 36526 Dvr R.G. Maiden, AFA. I've had this one for some time and it medal has seen better days. This return is a direct result of the family searching the family history and coming across a listing on the main web site.

The final medal in this lot is a WWI BWM that was awarded to 3620 PTE Thomas Essam, 47th Bn, AIF. This medal has had a hard life and the first letter of the surname is almost worn off the rim.

The total number of returned medals now stands at 371.

Four more medals are about to be returned

It has been a quite month for Lost Medals Australia however, in the last few days we have located four families and I'll be sending their medals to them in the near future.
The first medal is a Royal Navy Reserve Long Service and Good Conduct Medal awarded to B1940 AB Ernest Victor Greenhalgh, RNVR. Greenhalgh's grand daughter contacted me having come across his entry on the main website.







































The second medal is a WWI Victory Medal awarded to 2729 Roy Condon Bird who served with 14th LHR and the Camel Corps. I would like to thank Luke Keioskie of the The Coffs Coast Advocate who took a letter to the editor that I wrote and turned it into a story. As a result Bird's grandson contacted me.















The third medal is British War Medal awarded to 5763 PTE Leo Campbell Dempsey, 14Bn, AIF. Bill did a great job locating Leo's nephew also named Leo.








The final medal in this round is another British War Medal, this on the 3099 PTE George Grace, 20 Bn, AIF. Once again Bill joined all the dots on this on to locate the family.

Another unusual return

As I have discussed in the 'unusual requests' post I get get asked to research items other than medals. One such item was a WWI wounded in action certificate. Once again Bill came through with the goods and located the family. The certificate pictured was presented to 2530A PTE M. A . Baxter . It is in wonderful condition with only minor water stains and age marks. I hope you enjoy looking at this certificate.

10 more medals on the way home

Thanks once again to Bill's research skills, we are now about to return another 10 medals to the families of Australian serviceman. This week will see the return of the Patience, Abbott, Russell and Gibbs medals. That will take the medals returned count to 361. Some photos are below.

When I retrieved the Patience medal from storage I noted that it wasn't as bright and shinny as other WWII medals. When I checked my notes I remembered that this medal was one of several that had been handed in to a RSL in NSW and then forwarded to me. The RSL suspected that the these medals were the proceeds of some robberies. Once I looked at them all I noted that some of the medals had the details on the rim removed. Now having a closer look at the Patience medal I suspect that it has been dipped in some form of corrosive with the intent of removing the name. The photos below show how the features of the obverse and reverse are not very distinct. There is also an unusual pitting on the surface.

39/45 Star of

CPL George Abbott

RAAF

Three WWII medals

awarded to

SGT C.R. Russell

War Medal awarded to

CAPT J.D. Patience

Note the pitting on

the surface of the

medal.

Seven medals returned this week

We have had a real purple patch in the last few days. Bill has done the majority of the work and deserves the credit. We have now resolved the Flynn, Holloway and Beck searches. Below are photos of some of these medals.


WWII group to
James Beck











WWII War Medal to
Neville Flynn

Web site update

Hi, Scott just updated the Lost Medals Australia web site. This update includes some great details and a photo of LT K.A. McLeod. McLeod was in the second in take of RMC, Duntroon. His Corps of Staff Cadets number was 55. He, along with his class mates, graduated early to go to WWI. LT McLeod was killied at Gallipoli on 3 May 1915.

A low number and it's going home

A few posts down I listed some medals awarded to early enlistees of units. I had a picture of a BWM to 62 A/CPL R Collins, 42 Bn AIF. The medal is darker than usual and I found that the photo didn't come out to well on the web so I decided not to display it.
Well today I located the family so it is time to rephoto it and use another angle. Some of my friends on the British Medal Forum have displayed some very good photos of medal rims so I'm trying to emulate their efforts. I haven't quite cracked it.

Robert Collins was originally from Blackall in Queensland and I've located his niece who lives in Longreach.

Another medal goes home

One medal that I've had for some time that has intrigued me was the BWM to 23 SGT Alfred Keith Button, 2 Mobile Veterinary Section. It intrigued me due to the low number and the unusual unit. Indeed, I even focused on this medal in an earlier post. As I was researching the soldier I found that his brother was in the same unit with the regimental number of 25.
Once again Bill did the majority of the work and located Button's daughter, Wendy, who lives in Canberra. This occurred a fortnight ago and it just happened that I was traveling to Canberra for work last week. So I took the opportunity to call on Wendy and return her father's medal. I had a wonderful couple of hours with Wendy. I must say she is very savvy when it comes to technology and we spent a bit of time accessing Button's service record and searching around other websites. I don't usually meet the people I return medals to so when I do it is pretty special.
Here is a photo of Wendy and the rim of Button's BWM.

A local return

On 28 Jan 08 I was contacted by one of the police stations here in Townsville. A WWII group of 6 medals had been handed in after being picked up from the gutter. The police contacted me as they had no record of the medals having been reported stolen. As it turned out the police station is the one that supports my area and the medals were found in the same suburb as I live in.
I picked up the medals yesterday and arranged to do a piece to air on the local ABC radio station. Within two hours of the program, I was contacted by a lady who gave me a lead to the family. This lead put me in touch with the niece of the soldier whose medals I had. She had been burgled recently and didn't realise until last night that the medals were missing. Indeed she was so involved in filling out the insurance claim this morning she missed the radio program I was on. We now think that the thieves emptied one of Jean's drawers on to her bed, scooped up the contents and left. Later the thieves discarded the medals not thinking they were of any value.
The end result was that Jean collected the medals from my place this afternoon. I met very few people I return medals to so this was quite special. The local paper sent around a photographer to capture the story.
The medals were awarded to QX2156 Herbert Walter Walker who was KIA at Milne Bay on 31 Aug 42. Jean bought with her a locket which contained a picture of Herbert. The photo below shows Herbert's medals and his picture. A very emotional moment for me.





Herbert Walker's
medals and a photo
of him.

Return of a more recent medal

Most of the medals I research and return were awarded for service during WWI. This is due to the volume that were awarded and the time since the end of WWI which increases the opportunity for the medals to become lost. I have also discovered that many medals were disposed of during The Depression for their scrap value.

The next largest group of medals I come across were awarded for service during WWII. A few medals from other conflicts also come my way. The oldest I've returned was a Queens South Africa Medal for service in the Boer War, the newest was an Australian Active Service Medal for service in East Timor.

I have also returned several medals awarded for the Vietnam War. In the last couple of days we, mainly through Bill's efforts, have located a Vietnam War veteran whose South Vietnam medal I've had for a few years. The medal has had a hard life since it was lost and I had to remove a fair bit of gunge off the reverse just to see the details. The ribbon is also very soiled. The good news is that the medal will soon be sent back to the veteran. I thought that you might be interested in seeing some pictures of this medal.

Unusual requests

Most of my time is focused on medals however, every now and then I get unusual requests. I've been asked to return dog tags, fobs and watches. While I list them in various publications I don't put in as much effort into the research as I would medals. That being said I've been pretty successful getting dog tags back to current serving soldiers or veterans.
One of the most unusual requests I've had was to return a sword to a WWII veteran. The sword was easily identifiable to this particular officer so I took on the challenge. I usually insist on the medals being sent to me, and I'll explain why later, but in this case I thought it best that the sword stay with the person who had current ownership until I found the family.
I can now happily report that we have located the niece of the officer and I've arranged for the two parties to contact each other and the sword be returned. Bill did the majority of the work for this one and he is to congratulated on his efforts. Below is a picture of the sword once owned by MAJ William Tresidder.

The reason that I insist that the medals be sent to me is that I've had a couple of unfortunate incidents recently. Having been contacted by people with medals they wanted me to do the research for them but not been prepared to let me care for them. In some cases the research has taken some time and when I go to let the people with the medals know I've located the family, they have moved with out letting me know. I then have another search to find the people with the medals. This leaves the family upset and confused.
In one case I even had the person with the medal change their mind. They didn't want to return the medals to the family despite requesting me too find them and after I had gone to some trouble to find the family. I hope this is not to much to expect.

Unusual units or low numbers

When I first started on this research I didn't appreciate keeping photographic records. I really only need one or two photos of the obverse and the reverse of a medal however, the uniqueness for each medal comes from the serviceman details impressed on the reverse or rim. So I'm now photographing the rim of each medal in my care.

While I initially used the Internet for research that was mostly through access to records. More and more I now use research forums to find out about individuals and try to find where they, or their families are now. Having photos gives me some thing to share online.

I'm a little annoyed I didn't photograph rims from the start as there have been some significant medals I've returned. For example the MM and Bar to L/SGT Athol Croskell, the MM to PTE James Cathels or the WWII group awarded to PTE Ray Westendorf who was aboard the Hospital Ship "Centaur" which was sunk off the Queensland coast.

What I find interesting is medals from unusual units or low regimental numbers which indicates that the soldier joined early. The Barrington-Kersland and Leslie medals which are shown below are to a couple of interesting units. Here are some photos of some of the other medals that I find interesting.

23 SGT Alfred Button

2 Mobile Vet Section

493 PTE Ernest Horne

6 LHR

CPL Roman Ilupmaggi
2 LH Bde, 2 Sig Tp
(Note the difference in the naming style on the BWM and Victory Medal. This group is in mint condition having never been worn)

129 PTE Leslie McKeown

7th Bn AIF

Charles Taylor

MN

PTE Selly Thaiday

Torres Strait

Light Infantry

Battalion

Boxer Rebellion Medal

One of the medals I'm finding the most difficult to research was awarded to 215 Able Seaman E. O'Connell. O'Connell served in the NSW Naval Contingent that deploted to China in 1900. The conflict is commonly known as the Boxer Rebellion.
All I know about O'Connell is his number and that he was from Newtown in Sydney. This is one search I would really like to finalise. O'Connell's entry in the AWM website can be seen here.

These photos are of O'Connell's China 1900 medal.

O'Connell is 3rd from the left, 3rd row from the front.

O'Connell's listing in Neil Smith's 'Carving up the Melon'.

Some different medal photos

Here are some pictures of medals or units that have come my way.


An Imperial Service Medal
awarded to
Mrs Evelyn Bessie Spradbery






BWM awarded to
PTE James Barrington-Kersland Camel Corps





BWM awarded to SGT Arthur Leslie
Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force

Update - 11 Jan 08

Thank you for the feed back I have received so far. I really appreciate the frank comments. As a result I have made some changes. I was not happy with the photo layouts so made a couple of amendments. I hope now that it is easier to identify the different medals I have posted pictures of. There is still a couple of spacing issues but I haven't mastered html yet. Hopefully, this will improve as I get used to the site layout.

As an experiment I have inserted a slide show with a heap of other photos I have. I hope you like this and I'll use it for all the obscure photos I have.
I have also put up a photo of a real Pacific Star so that a comparison can be made with the fake example I've posted.

In the last few days we have managed to locate four more families and return the relatives medals. The main website, Lost Medals Australia, will be updated with the latest returned total in the near future.

Fake medals

Unfortunately, there are many fake medals on the open market. There are many reason for them to be there including people trying to benefit from selling them to make a profit or other scams. Here are some pictures of a fake Pacific Star that has come my way.













Here is a close up of a real Pacific Star for comparision.

Duplicate, Replacement and Replica Medals

One of the most common questions I am asked is how to obtain replacement medals.
The first thing to understand is the terminology that is being used. Duplicate medals are those which are officially provided by the Government when originals have been lost. These are also know as replacement medals. The duplicate medal is named like the original but there is a 'D' stamped on the medal to indicate that it is an official duplicate.

However, only the serviceman can apply for official duplicate medals. Once the serviceman has died it is policy that medals will not be replaced. The policy and the application process for replacement of lost medals can be found at the Defence Honours and Awards web site.

That being said, there are replica (or reproduction) medals available for purchase. I don't endorse any particular company but examples of replica medals can be seen here. Replica medals will be marked somewhere with the word 'replica'. There are some photos below to illustrate what I mean.

When medals have been lost for a couple of generations and it is unlikely that the originals will ever be found, the acquisition of replica medals for display purposes is popular.

These photos are of replicas of the Australian Defence Medal and the Australian Active Service Medal

WWII Medals

The following pictures are examples of medals that were awarded to Australians for service during WWII. There were considerably more than awarded for WWI. Other decorations for bravery and gallantry were awarded but I'll cover them in later posts.
The 1939-45 Star, showing the
impressing of the soldier's
number and name.










The Africa Star with 8th Army clasp (left)
The Air Crew Europe Star (right)











The Atlantic Star (left)
The Burma Star










The France and Germany Star (left)
The Italy Star (right)









The Defence Medal











The War Medal











The Australian Service Medal 1939-45










Naming on an Australian Service Medal

A WWII group





All medals awarded to Australians were impressed with the number and name of the soldier. The impression is on the reverse (back) of the Stars and the rim of the other medals.

WWI Medals

The following pictures are examples of medals that were awarded to Australians for service during WWI. The main three medals are the 1914-15 Star, The British War Medal and the Victory Medal. Other decorations for bravery and gallantry were awarded but I'll cover them in later posts. The front is referred to as the obverse and the back is the reverse.

The 1914-15 Star,
impressed with the
soldier's number,
rank, name and unit.


The British War Medal

The Victory Medal

WWI Trio










Naming on The BWM and Victory Medal




All medals awarded to Australians were impressed with the number, rank, name and unit of the soldier. The impression is on the reverse (back) of the 1914-15 Star and the rim of the BWM and the Victory Medal.

Welcome

Hello and welcome to my first post of this blog. As I have said in the header I am using a blog to compliment my main web site Lost Medals Australia.

When we first set up Lost Medals Australia my webmaster, Scott and I discussed adding a forum. We decided that a forum would require significant administration, time I would prefer to spend on research. As the popularity and exposure of Lost Medals Australia has spread, I have had many people enquire about how they can gain more knowledge about their families military service. I am hopeful that using this blog I can direct people to the appropriate research resource and share my knowledge with others.

One request that I continually receive is to locate medals that are missing. Unfortunately, this is an almost impossible task. My method is to obtain the medals and then find the family. The other way around is very difficult. Indeed, I have only managed to achieve this once. If medals were sold during The Depression, for example, they are now likely to be in a private collection. Therefore, the rightful owner is the person who has subsequently purchased the medals. Also there is no central database of collections (private and public) or of medals currently up for sale in 2nd hand shops and the like. All I can suggest at times like this is to regularly check the militaria section of online auction sites like ebay.

One of the pages on Lost Medals Australia shows pictures of some of our success stories. We consider that this is not an appropriate page for general pictures of medals. However, I get many enquiries for pictures of the types of medals Australians have been awarded. I plan to use this blog to display pictures of the medals that come in to my care. I have also gained a bit of an understanding of naming conventions on medals. I'll include pictures of some of the different names and styles I have come across.

I have also received many medals that are not what they appear. There is, unfortunately, many fake medals on the open market. I have some examples of fake medals and will include some photos of these.

Research like this would not be possible without the assistance of a great backup team. I've mentioned Scott who is my webmaster and chap on the ground in Brisbane. Scott has done a great job setting up the Lost Medals Australia web site. He is also responsible for his own web site about the Defence of Arnhem by the Germans during WWII. Scott is a talented historian in his own right and is currently working on two books.

A recent edition to the Lost Medals Australia family is Bill Wyndham, a retired Australian Army officer, who devotes his time to assisting families uncover their military history. Bill has been a real asset to me in recent months and managed to draw many searches to a conclusion.

There are many others who have provided me assistance by checking records, photographing headstones and chasing down obscure references. To all those people, thank you, especially; Kim W, Sandra, Morris, Tim L, Bill W and Sue (Steve) B.

Thank you for reading my blog and please visit often as I hope to update it regularly. Please visit my main web page, Lost Medals Australia, and I invite you to sign the guest book.