Charles Jacklin - British War Medal

14369 PTE Charles Henry Jacklin was from Louth in Lincolnshire, UK. He served with the Lincolnshire Regiment during WWI and fought in France on several occasions. He received a gun shot wound to his shoulder for which he would later get a pension. In 1917 Jacklin was captured by the Germans and held as a POW. After the war he returned to Louth where he died in 1961.
What I find interesting is that the medal was sent to me from Rockhampton in Queensland. However, I'm sure that Jacklin spent no time in Australia, but the medal will be returned to a relative who does live in Australia. Jacklin was entitled to the WWI trio and the BWM is pined to a trio ribbon bar. I'm not sure if this is Jacklin's ribbon bar but I have left it exactly how it came to me, even if it means the ribbon bar is upside down and the BWM is on a Victory Medal ribbon.
This search was conducted primarily using sources available on Ancestry. The medal returned tally is now 1089.

Joseph Marlow - WWI Trio

This story has one constant that stretches over 80 years and was the key that helped me solve the search.
3487 PTE Joseph Marlow served in the 15th Battalion. Marlow initially joined the battalion in Egypt before seeing service in France. In 1917 he was taken POW by the Germans. His Red Cross records show postcards to his mother. His records show that his next of kin was his mother who lived in England. After the war Marlow lived in Queensland before settling in Sydney.
Marlow married late in life, at the age of 58, to Annie May Siddens. Annie lived with several members of her family at an address in Annandale, a Sydney suburb. By using the Electoral Rolls on Ancestry and the NSW Birth Deaths and Marriage records I was able track the family through several marriages which saw name changes. However, I know I was on the right track as the address that successive generations lived at from 1930 was the same. I've been told the family originally rented the house before they purchased it and now the fifth generation lives there.
Marlow's file showed that he wrote to the Department of Defence in 1964 stating he had lost his medals and  requesting replacements At the time Marlow had just moved in the the Narembeen War Veterans home. Marlow died in 1973
These medals were originally sent to me by John S. The group consists of the 1914-15 Star, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal. They are part of a large collection he sent and now there is only one WWII pair left.
The returned medal tally is now 1086.

Comparison of Commonwealth Honours and Awards

This post is a further effort to include some interesting articles and research about medals on this blog. I have asked a member of the British Medal Forum if I can reproduce a chart he has worked on that attempts to show a comparison of Honours and Awards between the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand and Australia. I thank Mark Brewer very much for his kind permission to show his work here.
Mark will be the first to admit that there is no clear cut alignment of the different honours systems and not all awards are alike or equivalent. Mark used his own extensive knowledge of the different systems and input from the BMF members to complete the following research.

NATIONAL HONOURS

United Kingdom	Australia	Canada		New Zealand
Civilian & Military	Civilian & Military	Civilian	Military	Civilian & Military
Knight or Dame Grand Cross of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (GBE)	Companion of the Order of Australia (AC)	Companion of the Order of Canada (CC)	Commander of the Order of Military Merit (CMM)	Knight or Dame Grand Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (GNZM)
Knight or Dame Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (KBE/DBE)				Knight or Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (KNZM/DNZM)
Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE)				Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (CNZM)
Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE)	Officer of the Order of Australia (AO)	Officer of the Order of Canada (OC)	Officer of the Order of Military Merit (OMM)	Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM)
Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE)	Member of the Order of Australia (AM)	Member of the Order of Canada (CM)	Member of the Order of Military Merit (MMM)	Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM)
Medal of the Order of the British Empire for Meritorious Service (BEM)	Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM)	No equivalent	No equivalent	No equivalent

 

GALLANTRY AWARDS

United Kingdom	Australia	Canada	New Zealand
Victoria Cross (VC)	Victoria Cross for Australia (VC)	Victoria Cross (VC)	Victoria Cross for New Zealand (VC)
Conspicuous Gallantry Cross (CGC)	Star of Gallantry (SG)	Star of Military Valour (SMV)	New Zealand Gallantry Star (NZGS)
Distinguished Service Cross (DSC), Military Cross (MC), Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC)	Medal for Gallantry (MG)	Medal of Military Valour (MMV)	New Zealand Gallantry Decoration (NZGD)
Mention in Despatches (mid)	Commendation for Gallantry		New Zealand Gallantry Medal (NZGM)

BRAVERY AWARDS

United Kingdom	Australia	Canada	New Zealand
George Cross (GC)	Cross of Valour (CV)	Cross of Valour (CV)	New Zealand Cross (NZC)
George Medal (GM)	Star of Courage (SC)	Star of Courage (SC)	New Zealand Bravery Star (NZBS)
Queen’s Gallantry Medal (QGM), Air Force Cross (AFC)	Bravery Medal (BM)	Medal of Bravery (MB)	New Zealand Bravery Decoration (NZBD)
Queen’s Commendation for Bravery, Queen’s Commendation for Bravery in the Air	Commendation for Brave Conduct		New Zealand Bravery Medal (NZBM)

Gilbert Young - Australian Service Medal 1939-45

W28634 Gilbert Young was 48 when he enlisted for service in WWII. At that age it is not surprising that he remained a member of the militia and did not serve with the 2nd AIF. This is indicated by the W prefix of his service number rather than the WX for the AIF.
By using Ancestry, the WA Birth, Deaths and Marriages data base and the Karrakatta Cemetery search page, I was able to put together a family tree for Gilbert's daughter Edna. I knew that her husband Arnold Keith Fleming had served with the RAAF during WWII. I was also able to establish that their son Alexander Keith Fleming served during the Vietnam War as a rifleman with 3 RAR during their 2nd tour. Alexander returned to Australia from South Vietnam in mid May 1971 but was unfortunately killed in a motor on 29 August 1971. He is buried at Karrakatta as well. Alexander, or Flemo, is the centre soldier of the three pictured below.

However, all these clues lead to nothing. Even though I knew what Gilbert's daughter's name was I could not find any clue to her current address or even if she was still alive. I also had no lead on their daughter after 1980.
Bill solved the final piece of the puzzle and today he located Edna who I have since spoken to.
This medal was sent to me by the WA RSL. The medal returned tally is now 1083.

James Ford - WWI British War Medal

This is another example of a family who sacrificed much during WWI. Tim has put together the whole story based on Bill's initial research. This is how Tim has told me the story:

'James Ford was born in 1888 in Brisbane to parents James and Mary Ford. He had five brothers William, Robert, John (Jack), Michael and Richard and they hailed from the West End/South Brisbane area.
Robert (24 years of age) and William (22 years of age) enlisted in the AIF together on 29 July 1915, joining the 11th Reinforcements of the 15th Battalion and being assigned the numbers 3296 and 3298 respectively. James (27 years of age) enlisted on 15 September 1915, also being assigned to the 15th Battalion and was issued with the number 4789. Robert and William sailed for Egypt on 24 September 1915 with Robert joining the 15th Battalion after further training on 6 March 1916. Instead of joining the 15th, William joined the 47thBattalion, known as the 15th's 'pup' battalion, formed when the AIF's 1st and 2nd Division battalions were split to form two extra Divisions in March 1916.
James sailed to Egypt with the 15th Reinforcements to the 15th Battalion on 5 May 1916. After training he finally joined the battalion and his brother Robert on the Western Front on 4 October 1916.
On 1 February 1917 during at attack on Stormy Trench (where Mad Harry Murray won his VC) at Gueudecourt, Robert was listed as Missing in Action. It was subsequently discovered he had been captured by the Germans. He spent the remainder of the war in a Prisoner of War camp in Germany. William was Killed in Action serving with the 47th Battalion during the Battle of Messines on 7 June 1917, after receiving a gun shot wound.
James remained with the 15th Battalion, surviving its major actions throughout 1917. After being twice wounded during 1917 he was Killed in Action by a shell whilst the battalion were in a support trench near Hebuterne on 27 March 1918, where they had been rushed to stem the German spring offensive. James was buried nearby and a cross erected by his comrades. Unfortunately, his grave was lost during further fighting. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial. 
Robert was repatriated from Germany after the Armistice and returned to his father and mother in Brisbane in mid 1919, passing away in 1926. Of the three Ford sons who sailed for war one survived the atrocious conditions of a POW camp, but died young, and two paid the supreme sacrifice. 
Richard, who had been born in 1900 was thankfully too young to go to war and married Mary Agnes McDonald in 1930. They had children including a son named Gary. On 4 March 2012 after Bill had done the hard lead up work I was able to track down James Ford's nephew Gary and his wife Gloria in Brisbane.
Interestingly, I see that there is a number missing in the 15th Battalion series between William and Robert (3297). I think it likely that either James or another brother also attempted to enlist with them, but was turned away for some reason. A witness in William's Red Cross file mentions there was another Ford brother also in A Coy of the 47th. None of the other Fords in the 15th or 47th Battalion match the family and the witness was a 47th Battalion reinforcement having no links to the 15th, so is unlikely to have got the other brothers confused. Perhaps this means another brother enlisted under a false name, perhaps Gary's father Richard who was born in 1900 enlisted under age?'

James' medal has had a hard life and appears to be fire damaged. The rim has taken several knocks and it was quite difficult to get a clear photo of the naming. The returned medal tally is now 1082.

Arthur Chaloner Smith - WWI Victory Medal

The destructive impact of WWI on Australian families is very evident in the following story. It goes to show how some family lines were completely cut. This often makes it difficult for us as we have to start searching for a relative who is often quite distant to the soldiers we are researching. 

That is what happened in this particular case and it was only through some great detective work by Tim that the case has been solved. This is what Tim has put together:

2707 PTE Arthur Edward Chaloner Smith, known as ‘Ally’, was born in 1873 in County Wicklow, Ireland, the only known child of John Chaloner Smith and Mary O’Shaughnessy. He subsequently emigrated to Western Australia and married Ada Rebecca Rudyerd (nee Lamb) from Naracoorte, South Australia in 1902. Ada was previously married to Jack, however, it did not last. Jack and Ada settled in Perth and they had a son named Jack in 1905, but he died the following year.   

Ally enlisted in the AIF on 21 June 1916 as a 41 year old, joining the 8^th Reinforcements to the 16th Battalion. He served with A Company of the 16th Battalion at Gallipoli, in Egypt and on the Western Front prior to being Killed in Action in Belgium during the Battle of Messines on 12 June 1917. 

Ada had two sisters one of whom, Charlotte Augusta Lamb, married Campbell Mehaffey at Naracoote in 1892. The other sister does not appear to have married. Charlotte and Campbell had a number of children including SGT John Lamb Mehaffey known as 'Little Jack', who was Killed in Action in France whilst serving with the 50^th Battalion on 2 April 1917 and PTE Campbell William Graham Mehaffey, who was Killed in Action in Belgium serving with the 6^th Field Ambulance on 5 November 1917. A third son was Darcy Gerald Arthur Stock Mehaffey born in 1897, who had a child named Campbell born in 1920, the namesake of his lost uncle. 

Ada remained close to the Mehaffey family until her death in 1926. The photos below are of 'Little Jack' and Campbell. The medal will be sent to the Mehaffey family.

The returned medal tally is now 1081. 

MEHAFFEY, John Lamb

Service no 3418
Sergeant
50th Battalion (late 10th Battalion)
Born 25 February 1894 at Naracoorte
Son of Campbell Mehaffey of Naracoorte
Occupation prior to enlistment Clerk
Enlisted 4 August 1915
Served in Egypt, France and Belgium
Reported missing, Norieul, later reported killed in action

Studio portrait of 3418 Sergeant (Sgt) John Lamb Mehaffey of Naracoorte SA who enlisted as a Private in the AIF on 4 August 1915. Pte Mehaffey embarked in Adelaide on 27 October 1915 as an acting Corporal with the 11th Reinforcements to the 10th Battalion bound for Egypt and on arrival was promoted to Acting Sergeant. When the AIF was re-organised in early 1916 he was transferred to the 50th Battalion, he reverted to the ranks, although he was quickly promoted to Corporal and sailed with the 50th Battalion on 5 June 1916 on board HMT Arcadian bound for Marseilles. After arrival in France he was promoted Sergeant on 9 July 1916. On 2 April 1917 Sgt Mehaffey was first reported as missing in action, amended to killed in action, when the details of his death in fighting on the outskirts of the French village of Noreuil were eventually reported. It is recorded in his file; "Buried in Australian Military Cemetery on outskirts of village and big cross erected by the Battalion." It is likely his grave was destroyed in subsequent fighting as today Sgt Mehaffey has no know grave. His name is commemorated on the Australian National Memorial at Villers Bretonneux, France. In the Roll of Honour circular completed by his mother she recorded that his brother, Pte C.W. Mehaffey, 6th Field Ambulance, was killed in Belgium the same year on 5 November 1917.
Service No. 3418

Sergeant
50th Battalion A.I.F.
Born on February 25, 1894 at Naracoorte, South Australia
Son of Charlotte Louisa (nee Lamb) and Campbell Mehaffey
Occupation prior to enlistment – Clerk
Enlisted on August 4, 1915 at Adelaide, South Australia
Served in Egypt, France and Belgium.
Killed in action at Noreuil, France on April 2, 1917 aged 23 and buried at Noreuil.  He is commemorated at Villers-Brettoneux, France.
Sergeant Mehaffey’s brother – Private Campbell William Graham Mehaffey was killed on November 5, 1917 aged 21 in Belgium and is buried in the Hooge Crater Cemetery, Zillabeke, Belgium.

MEHAFFEY, Campbell William Graham

Service no 17145
Private
6th Field Ambulance (Detached to 7th Fd Amb)
Born 7 April 1896 at Naracoorte
Son of Campbell Mehaffey of Naracoorte
Occupation prior to enlistment Draper
Enlisted 3 August 1916
Served in France and Belgium
Made the supreme sacrifice 5 November 1917 at Ypres





Photos and text - http://www.ww1sa.gravesecrets.net/m.html

John Schmitzer - 1939-45 Star

This WWII 1939-45 Star was awarded to NX122770 John Schmitzer and he was known as Jack. From the electoral rolls I knew he was from a large family who lived in the Taree area. Lucky, Jack was mentioned in an Ancestry family tree and the tree owner was able to put me in touch with Jack's nephew
Thank you to Anne who helped me with this search and to Liz J who sent me the medal in the first place.
The returned medal tally is now 1080.

Website Update

Today, Scott updated our website. By clicking on the Site Update button on the left side of the page, below the hit counter, you will see what is new.

Robert Adams - British War Medal

This post was updated on 12 May 15. Please scroll to the bottom.
 
This particular search has been typical of many that we do. We often get a lot of information initially that seems to be leading us to an easy result. However, as is often the case, we end up getting to a point where all the information seems to dry up. 

I received the BWM awarded to Lieutenant Robert John Adams in Feb 09 and there is a fair amount of information about him and his early life in Tasmania. All the leads I had dried up in about in the mid 1920s. Tim has had a fresh look at this case and has had a wonderful bit of success. Here is what Tim has put together.

Robert John Adams emigrated from the Ditton, Lancashire with his wife Leah to Tasmania prior to WW1. They appear to have separated in Hobart around the start of the war, with three children (Robert, Leah and Trixie), being left in the care of a Mrs Fitzpatrick. Robert was a Boer War veteran and former British Army RAMC regular serving 4 years with the colours and 8 in the reserve. 
Robert somehow made it to Townsville and enlisted there in March 1915, initially serving with the 4th Light Horse Brigade Field Ambulance, being transferred to the 15th Field Ambulance in March 1916 in Egypt. He then served in France/Flanders being commissioned to LT from LCPL at the end of the war. His service papers and an allotment file explain the situation with his children and wife.
When he got home to Tasmania after the war Robert and Leah divorced (Hobart Mercury article July 1924). He subsequently married a lady named Revie and they had children named Jan, Roberta, Robin, Jill and Simon. He served on as a CPL in WW2, reducing his age by 8 years. Robert appears to have copped a few mentions in the paper over the years, including one in which Revie was injured in a traffic accident.
Robert died on 21 November 1953 and this time was living at Windsor St, Kingston Beach, Hobart. In the notice of death in the Hobart Mercury his family members were listed, including his daughter Leah who was by then married with the surname Uhr-Henry. 

This is the information that Tim used to track down Leah's son David who is now living in Victoria. The medal was sent to me by the Directorate of Honours and Awards after it was initially handed in by Adrian N of Hornsby.

 The returned medal tally is now 1079.

Post update 12 May 15.

Yesterday I received a very unexpected email from Marg Powell of the John Oxley Library. As part of her research in to the library's collecting she came across this story about Robert Adam. In the collection is a picture of Robert taken in Cairo. How amazing that this picture is connected to this story. I've provided Marg with the family's contact details so that they can also see this photo. The library's WWI blog is at this address.

Thank you to the John Oxley Library for kind permission to reproduce this picture.

W. O. J. Kielly Papers, John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland

http://onesearch.slq.qld.gov.au/SLQ:slq_alma21148548280002061

Matthew Abbott - British War Medal

I received this British War Medal in 2007 from the Queensland RSL after it was handed in. It was awarded to 6519 PTE Matthew Abbott who served in the 25th Battalion, AIF.  Matthew's next of kin were his parents Matthew Snr and Harriet Louisa Abbott of Gympie Road, Kedron. Matthew had two brothers named Arthur and 3755 Lance Corporal Frank Abbott, also of the 25th Battalion. Frank was killed in action at Zonnenbeke, Belgium, on 31 October 1917. Matthew senior passed away in 1939. We also know that Matthew had no children of his own as he never married.

Arthur Abbott married Sarah Bowley who was known in the family as Myrtle. Myrtle had a nephew named Gordon whose mother died when he was young and he was raised by Arthur and Myrtle.

Gordon's father, Cyril served with the 26th Battalion in WW1 and there is a photo of him in the Queenslander from June 1915 (reproduced here).

BOWLEY, Cyril Claude

Service no 280
Private
26th Battalion
Born Brisbane, Qld
Son of J. STARKEY
Enlisted 15 April 1915 at Brisbane, Qld.
Occupation prior to enlistment Grocer
Returned to Australia 23 April 1919 per 'Kashmir'

The Queenslander
Sat. 26 June 1915

Tim has done some great research on the back of the initial work done by Bill to finalise this search. The medal will be returned to Gordon's daughter who is Arthur and Myrtle's grand niece.

The medal returned tally is now 1078.

GNR R.H. Wilcockson - British War Medal

This is the story of a British War Medal that has travelled a very long way only to end up being a few kilometres from its final destination.
This BWM was awarded to 46246 Gunner Robert Henry Wilcockson. Initially, Robert enlisted in to the Royal Artillery, later in the war he transferred to the Royal Engineers and in 1919 he was serving with the Green Howards. Luckily, I was able to piece together his service history as his British Army pension records is available online via Ancestry. This document also gave me information about where Robert was from and his wife's name.
Using other bits of information I found online I was able to piece together a family tree for Robert and his wife Henrietta. The key piece of information was that one of their sons was named Joseph Howard Wilcockson. This information led me to find a family tree on Ancestry that showed Robert, Henrietta, Joseph and two other children. I sent the tree owner a message and within six hours I had a response.
Robert and Henrietta's son Joseph also had a son Joseph. The tree owner is Joseph juniors son named Mark. This makes Mark the great grand son of Robert. The information I was able to piece together was that the family originated in Lancashire, UK, and that they didn't venture too far.
Part two of this story is how the medal got to me. In 2007 an acquaintance of mine, Paddy D, in Townsville who manages the 4th Field Regiment historical collection asked me to research this BWM. It had been sent to him from his family in New Zealand who had found the medal amongst the belongings of a relative who had recently died. How the medal got to Auckland is a mystery.
In my message to Mark I told him all this and based on what I could see I thought I would be sending the medal back to England. In his response Mark told me that the family had stayed in North Lancashire except for him. Much to my surprise Mark now lives in Canberra and only about 10km from where I live. I have arranged to meet him next week and hand him the medal. I am quite amazed that this medal has travelled so far and now it turns out to be so close to a direct descendent of Robert Wilcockson.
The returned medal tally is now 1077.

Imperial Service Medal - James Gibson

The Imperial Service Medal is not one that usually comes my way so it is nice to have something out of the ordinary to do some research on. This particular medal was awarded to James Sydney Gibson for his service as a Signalman with the NSW Tramways. The only information about the award being made to James that I could find was in the London Gazette and on the itsanhonour web page.
I've recently tracked down James' grandson and I'll return the medal to him in the near future.
The returned medal tally is now 1076.

WWI British War Medal to Wilfred Robinson

This story is has many elements of luck about it. The BWM awarded to 3415 PTE Wilfred Gerald Robinson was given to me by a friend of mine who was in my Staff Collage class. When I received the medal last August I found a lot of information about this soldier which included his WW2 service, the names of his sons, that he died in 1970 and where he was buried. All clues ran out with the death of his wife in 1985.
Yesterday, I decided to have another look at this medal and stumbled across a family tree on Ancestry which had Wilfred listed. The tree hadn't been accessed for seven months so I was relying on a bit of luck again. Within an hour of sending a message to the owner I had an email response and a request to ring her.
As it turns out the lady why published the tree had done so for her sister in law who is the carer of Wildfred's son Eddie. Eddie is a WWII veteran himself and not in good health so all these pieces of luck have come together at a great time so that Eddie will get his father's medal back.
Thank you to Angie C for sending me the medal and also to Bunny and Carol for their interest in Eddie and his story.
The returned medal tally is now 1075.

Female WWII War Medal

Over the years we have had only a small number of medals awarded to females come to us. This war medal was awarded to WF57093 Bertha Florence Corkery who was originally from WA before marrying and moving to Boorowa NSW.
Boorowa is a smallish country town but there was a large Corkery family there. Ancestry provided most of the clues to track Bertha and several family trees for this family have been published. I sent a message to the tree owners and today I was contacted by Bertha's grand daughter, Jess. I was rather pleased with this bit of research as I only received the medal yesterday. Even more pleasing was to find out that Jess lives in the next suburb from me and she came straight over to collect the medal.
Along with the picture of Bertha's medal is a copy of the news paper photo from her wedding.
Well done to LTCOL Mick C who sent the medal to me.
The returned medal tally is now 1074.

Late issue WWII medals

These two medals come with a very interesting story. The 1939-45 Star and Australian Service Medal pictured below were awarded to H2896 David James Harold Hicks.
When they arrived in the mail I was very surprised to see that the box was a modern issue from the Directorate of Honours and Awards and not of 1950 vintage. Then I looked at the naming and saw is was laser engraved. I know that this method of engraving started after 1992 so the medals were issued after that year.
One of the reference books I use is Australians Awarded by Clive Johnson. In this book Clive provides excellent information about naming styles and different variants of the same medal. As it turns out the ASM has three types. The first type was issued from 1952, when stocks of this type ran out a type 2 was produced and eventually a type 3. There a subtle difference between the three types but when you know what to look for it is easy to work out which type it is.
The ASM to Hicks was the first type so I suspected that it was issued in the mid to late 1990s. There is no duplicate marking so it is an initial issue. What is also unusual, which can be seen in the pictures, is that the medal is named in the following sequence: Initials, Name then Number which is different from earlier times when the Number is first.
While searching for Hicks I ran in to the usual brick walls. Even though his service record was available on line it gave little information, except for one very important clue, his wife's name is Pauline. Based on this I spent a few hours using Ancestry to track the family. Unfortunately, there was only one electoral roll entry for David in 1954 and nothing for Pauline.
The next clue I got was a suburban war memorial entry which provided David's date of death in 1995 and then the trail went very cold. It was time to take a few punts. The Tasmanian birth, death and marriage indexes are not on line and cost a fee to access so that was out of the question. So, I looked for any burial information and came across a Hobart cemetery which listed David's burial. It also gave the suburb where he lived. A further search did not show that Pauline was buried in the same cemetery. I started to wonder if she might still be alive.
I took another punt and found a P Hicks listed in the White Pages who lived in the same suburb so I rang the number and sure enough I had found the family.
As it turns out, after David died his daughter noticed an anomaly with David's medals so she wrote to Honours and Awards. This was in the late 90s. The medals were then issued, however, I now know they were incorrectly addressed. They eventually came to me and thanks goes to Carole and Michael for wanting to see the medals go to the correct family.
The returned medal tally is now 1073.

Victory Medal to WWI died of wounds

6290 William St Clair Orr served in the 9th Battalion AIF having enlisted on 10 Jan 16. He left Australia in September 1916 and got in to a bit of trouble on the voyage and was charged with AWOL on two occasions. His troop ship arrived in England in mid December and William joined his battalion in France on New Years Day 1917.
The war diary shows that in early January the battalion was required to provide working parties and the entry for 5 Jan 17 says:
'8 casualties in one of our working parties of "semi trained" reinforcements, 5 being killed and 3 wounded.'
One of these was William who received gunshot wounds to his abdomen, legs and right hand. William died of his wounds later that day at the 3rd Field Ambulance.
William's came from a large family that was centred on Grafton NSW. His medal was sent to me by Liz J from northern NSW so the medal became lost up that way somehow. While there are still branches of the family around Grafton I was able to trace William's eldest brother's family to Sydney. William's Victory Medal will be returned to his great nephew.
The returned medal tally is now 1071.

WWII Australian Service Medal 1939-45

The parcel that was sent to me that contained the Robson medals also had a single 1939-45 ASM awarded to NX115779 Brian Thomas Birrell. I took about an hour to trace the family through the Electoral Rolls and the Ryerson Index and I have just spoken to Brian's wife.
How the medal was first lost and then put with the Robson medals is anyone's guess. Mrs Birrell tells me that she has been looking for this medal for years as she has the rest of Brian's group. Not only is the medal being returned to the family it is being reunited with the others awarded to this soldier.
The medal returned tally is now 1070.

WWII medal group of four

The WWII medals awarded to NX114199 Matthew Robson have had an eventful life.
Matthew was originally from Wollongong. After the war he worked as a plumber and eventually settled in the Blue Mountains. After Matthew died, over 30 years ago, his possessions were collected up and consigned to the rubbish. On the way to the tip a bag of clothes fell off a trailer and were picked up by Cheryl who was following behind. Cheryl found the medals in the clothes and held on to them until forwarding them to me this year.
I was able to track down the names of Matthew's siblings and located a family tree on Ancestry. The tree owner knew little about Matthew but was able to provide the name of his son, Colin. All I could find on Colin Robson was that he died in 2006 and his death notice was published in the Armidale Express. I then sent a letter to the editor of this paper which was published on 1 Feb 12.
Today I have received information which has put me in touch with Colin's son, which of course is Matthew's grand son.
The medal returned tally is now 1069.

WWII War Medal

This WWII War Medal was awarded to 161760 John Albert Reynolds. Bill has recently located John's son and the medal will be returned to him in the near future.
The medal came to us from the NSW RSL and the returned medal tally is now 1065.