The third act

I feel that this is story might, one day, have more to tell but for the moment this is the third act.

Act 1 was an email from Sid who reported his father's medal were stolen.

Act 2 was the medals being sent to me and then returned to Sid. Here is the story.

Act 3 was an email I received recently from Robert in New Zealand which said:

I am a medal mounter in Christchurch NZ, and have been given a medal that was found in a box of buttons in an op shop!

It is a Burma Star awarded to J S Cowling   #21419.

It would be good to see if this could be returned to a family member, and wonder if you can assist with this.

As soon as I saw the name it was familiar to me and I remembered the back story. The mystery is why are there two Burma Stars named to the same person without a D for duplicate or R for replacement stamped on the medal. And, how did it end up in New Zealand. These are probably questions I'll never know the answer to.

 

Thank you so much to Robert who took the step to see this medal returned.

The returned medal tally is now 2797.

WW2 pair

When I started researching Allan Colin Becktold I thought there would be loads of information available based on the quite unusual surname. In reality there was very few public records available. I knew when Alan was born, when he died (1997) and his service synopsis. Based on what wasn't available, I made an assumption Allan didn't marry or have children.

What I did find was Allan included on an Ancestry family tree. This tree belongs to his niece, Bev. My suspicions were correct and Bev confirmed Allan didn't marry. His family called Allan 'Unka' and as the collector of the family history, Bev is the perfect custodian of his medals. 

Thank you to retired Captain Peter W who came across the medals and through a mutual friend contacted me about them. 

The returned medal tally is now 2796.

Brigadier RD White OAM

This medal group comprising of the Medals of the Order of Australia (General Division), the Defence Force Service Medal with first and second clasp, the National Medal with first clasp and the Australian Defence Medal really sparked my interest. The nasals came to me from Peter of the Wollongong RSL sub branch after they were found outside the City Diggers Club. Finding the large medals or the miniatures separately is not uncommon but together is really interesting.

The medals were awarded to Randal Derek White who served as an officer in the Australian Army from 1951 to 1976. Despite this period of service covering the KoreanWar, the Vietnam War and several other conflicts, Randal did not see operational service.

Randal was in the Royal Australian Army Electrical and Mechanical Engineers and rose to the rank of Brigadier  his last appointment was as DGEME. Following retirement from the Army 1976, Randal Worked in the education sector. He was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in the 1991 Queen’s Birthday Honours List:

White OAM, Brig Randal Derek (QB1991) 

For service to education, to engineering, and to the community.

Principal, Whyalla Campus, South Australian Institute of Technology 1979-1990. Past President, Whyalla Rotary Club. Member, Whyalla Industrial Development Executive. Co-founder, Whyalla Education City Association. Member, Whyalla Hospital Board and the TAFE College Board. Joined the Australian Army as a Lieutenant in 1951; retired as Brigadier and Director-General of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering 1975.

It took a bit to make a link to the current generation of the White family but I’ve recently been in touch with Randal’s grand daughter. I’ll send her these medals on the near future. 

Thanks Peter for sending me the medals. Also thanks to my mate Mike who is the font of knowledge of all things RAEME. 

The returned medal tally is now 2794. 

I’ve tried to photograph the naming on each medal as best as possible. There are four completely different styles of naming.