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.