05 November 2011

John Merton - British War medal

This return is the result of work done by Bill and our friends of the Australian Surnames Group. This is the story Bill recently posted:

The search for a NOK of 3180 John Merton began on the 11 April 2009, and my first post to this Forum was on the 9 October 2009, looking for a NOK for Kathleen Ray REID, his daughter and Kenneth Richmond REID his son in law.
In between April and today, two and a half years have elapsed, it is a search that I have come back to many times, a search that has till today always ended in failure.
However, following my last revisit on the 30th October 2011, and with the information you have provided I started again.
This morning I spoke to Wendy, Kathleen and Kenneth's daughter. It was in a way a stilted conversation, I was to put it mildly 'shell shocked'. When a search has gone on as long as this one, involved so much, it is not easy to put it into simple words when you talk to a next of kin, explaining that out of desperation you spent one Saturday walking High St, Glen Waverley looking for a house that had a sign on it saying 'ROSS'. Then to be told by Wendy that it had been demolished 10 years ago, and a block of flats erected in its place. That the Fifi you had been looking for was in fact Fyffe, her brother's middle name, and that it came from a doctor FYFFE.
So next week Glyn will post of to Wendy, John's medals, which Wendy who holds her father's medals admitted she had always wondered about her grand father's medals.
So next week a search began so long ago will conclude and Wendy the Daughter of a First World War Veteran, great niece of two other WW1 veterans, one of whom Charles Merton, Ex3178, 59th Battalion, was Killed in Action, 19 June 1916, at Fromelles, will at least have one of her questions answered.
As always my thanks to you of the Forum.

Well done Bill. The medal is rather tarnished which isn't that clear in the pictures. The rim is also badly bruised and it was hard to get a photo of the impressing.
Thank you to Rodney A from Queensland who originally sent this medal to me.
The returned medal tally is now 1014.


3 comments:

  1. Hi Glyn.
    John Marr here.I was at the Morriset RSL today for the 11am service and was chatting to Lt Colonel Natasha Fox and she mentioned your latest health issues.Hope you are getting better as I would like to know how you are going.
    I could even ring you at home if you like.
    I spend 2 weeks in London in JUNE and have a couple of interesting
    photos you might like.
    Best Regards.
    John Marr. (jj)

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  2. Hi John, I sent an email to the address I have for you but it bounced back. Can you please email me through the webmaster link on my website.
    Thanks, Glyn

    ReplyDelete
  3. G'day my name is also John Merton and my brother James has done a bit of ancestory if you are interested.
    Facebook --Annie Merton -in WA -Pic in a canoe

    ReplyDelete