Marcus Nash

Last week I received a package from Jackie, my contact at Australia Post in Queensland. An item had come out of its packaging so the delivery address was unknown. The item was an Army Medallion for Exemplary Service. As it turned out the medallion was on it's way to Melbourne to be presented to Private Marcus Nash for his work establishing the Blue Green Crew. His group assists ADF members, Police officers and Emergency Service members deal with PTSD. Through a few contacts I found that Marcus' CO is a friend of mine so we quickly arranged for the medallion to be sent by express post to his unit for presentation on Tuesday 25 October 2016.
I've very kindly been supplied the citation for this award which speaks for itself:

Private Marucs C Nash, Royal Australian Corps of Military Police, is awarded the Soldier's Medallion for Exemplary Service as a Private whilst posted to the 1st Military Police Battalion.

An efficient and conscientious soldier whose enthusiasm is reflected in the execution of his duties. PTE Nash's provision of support and assistance continuously seeks to improve the working environment and morale of his comrades whilst his initiative and exemplary work ethic has seen him contributing on many occasions above and beyond what is expected of a junior soldier. PTE Nash's actions have seen him become an integral and highly regarded member of the platoon who's initiative, maturity and dedication has set a fine example for soldiers of 1st Military Police Battalion.

Through his tireless and selfless work in the establishment of "The Blue Green Crew", PTE Nash has provided a unique and unparalleled opportunity to the Defence, Policing and Emergency Services community. Offering the opportunity for those facing significant stress (including PTSD) and social hardships to take a much needed break away from work related stressors to participate in an all inclusive, positive and supportive outdoors environment. Initially funding the program out of his own pocket, PTE Nash and The Blue Green Crew have positively and significantly influenced the lives of many who routinely dedicate their lives to assisting others.

PTE Nash's dedication and efforts have led to him being held in the highest regards amongst both Defence and Civilian Emergency Services communities. His initiative and ongoing work serves as an exemplary and positive step forward in today's focus on mental health and social support.

The returned medal tally is 1965.

Charles Marson MSM

Yesterday I received a package from Karen F in WA which contained a Meritorious Service Medal and 1914 Star (the Mons Star). Karen lives in a small town in WA and I was intrigued how these medals came to be there.
The medals were awarded to Charles Harry Marson who was born in 1885. His parents were Richard and Sarah. From the UK census records it was apparent that Charles was a blacksmith serving in the British Army prior to 1911 as a shoeing smith. His corps was the Army Veterinary Corps.
The records got a bit confused after that as I found a Charles Henry Marson who emigrated to WA in 1920. The electoral rolls showed that this man was blacksmith and he moved around WA a bit, living in York and Perth. I had no conclusive proof that this was the same man who used the middle names of Harry and Henry until I found the death records which confirmed that Charles Henry's parents were Richard and Sarah. It was indeed the same man. It also explained how the medals came to be in WA. There is no evidence that Charles married or had any children.
From there I found a family tree belonging to Charles great great grand nephew, a direct descendant of Charles' brother Francis. This relative lives on the Channel Island of Guernsey and I'll send him the medals in the near future.
Karen also sent me several miniature medals which are the wrong combination to have been awarded to Charles. These are going to be a bit more difficult to research.
The returned medal tally 1965. Sorry Bill but the research took less than an hour.

Noel Harvey

Last week I got an email from a staff member at Kapooka telling me that during a recent audit of some memorabilia they discovered that a medal they though was a replica was actually authentic. The medal was awarded to Noel Mcleay Harvey who served in the RAAF. Noel did train at the RAAF base at Uranqunity which is not far from Kapooka, but I don't think that his medal came to be there as WWII medals weren't issued until well after the war ended.
Noel was pretty easy to trace through the electoral rolls and this lead me to his three sons, one who I found in the White Pages. Very soon Noel's Pacific Star will be returned to his family.
The returned medal tally is now 1963.

WWII medals to brothers

This search started with an email from a WA Police Officer who had recovered two sets of WWII medals. In his email to me, Constable Law said:
"I checked the engraved details on the medals and found that they belong to Bowyer Frederick PEARCE and John Albert PEARCE, possibly brothers or at least close relatives. The real shock to our team was when we identified that the date of death recorded for Bowyer is the 11 Oct 1942, the same date we located his medals in 2016."
What a remarkable coincidence. As it turns out Constable Law and I have a connection though Christ Church Grammar School but that is another story.
It didn't take much to find Boyer and John in the records and it turns out that Bowyer, a RAAF Warrant Officer died in India in 1940. John was killed in action on 10 June 1945 and is buried in Labuan Cemetery. 
Bowyer and John and included on an Ancestry family tree and a message sent to the owner soon put me in touch with Sue who is their niece. I now know that eight medals were stolen recently during a house break in. Sue has very kindly allowed me to reproduce the pictures below.
The returned medal tally is now 1962.

Post update 19 Oct 16
I have very kindly been provided a picture of the medals that were recovered.

Contemporary medals to RAN

Last week I received a referral that came via the Army Head Quarters. The Kings Cross Police had recovered a number of items including a set of medals. As it turned out there were items for two current members of the RAN and the additional items made the owners identifiable. I was quickly able to track both down and will send all these off shortly. I'll only show the medals here.

The returned medal tally is now 1953.

The power of social media

Earlier this year Cherie put a post on my Lost Medals Australia Face Book page about some medals she had which were awarded to H W Fleming. Today Cherie let me know that as a result of this post:

'the comments and assistance flooded in. Michelle Fleming (great niece) somehow came across my post and the rest is history really.'

This is a brilliant result and well done to Cherie.
The returned medal tally is now 1942.