Quite a bit of mental gymnastics were needed to get to a solution with this search.
This Australian Defence Medal came to me via the wonderful team at the Joint Military Police Station - Sydney. LS EB was handed this medal on Anzac Day from a member of the public with a request for the medal to be returned.
The ADM was awarded to A111905 PB Carey. All I could determine from these details was that Carey was in the RAAF and from Queensland. This is determined by the A (Airman) and 1 (Queensland). Unfortunately, I was unable to find any clues as to what the initials PB stood for. His name or number isn't on Trove or the Vietnam War and Nasho's nominal rolls. Other research resources like BDM records and death notices provided any clues.
The more I searched the more I ended up going around in circles. My first thought tangent was to narrow down the time period Carey served. I found the individual with the service number immediately after Carey's served during the Vietnam War. From this I concluded Carey had enlisted in the late 1960s.
To my surprise there are a large number of people named Carey in the Australian Electoral rolls. Not having the full name caused several hours of scrolling through Ancestry elimination names like Peter or Paul. Eventually I got to Patrick and found a Patrick Bernard. There is one electoral roll entry from 1968 listing Patrick Bernard Carey with a residential address at RAAF Townsville.
This had to be my man but after 1968 the leads got messy again. From 1972 onwards there are two separate men by this name in the electoral rolls; one living in Sydney the other in Melbourne. There was no way to determine who was who. The Sydney based Patrick died in 2016. The death notices indicated he was an academic and had died in the UK but there was no mention of RAAF service.
I sent a message to the tree owner and this was the correct PB Carey I was looking for. Partrick's widow and children are still alive, I'll post them the medal in the near future.
Thank you to LS EB. Also, thank you to Bill F, Patrick's first cousin who has connected me with Patrick's family.
The returned medal tally is now 2935.
