Ernest O'Neale

These two medals awarded for service during WWII were sent to me by the Directorate of Honours and Awards after they had been handed in. Ernest Richard O'Neale was easy to locate on the DVA WWII nominal roll with the number NX165034. However, I couldn't locate his record on the National Archives of Australia. 

On the DVA roll is also another number, 245084, and Ernest's discharge date is 1 Jul 48. This suggests that Ernest initially enlisted in the 2nd AIF and remained in the Army post WWII and became part of the restructured Australian Army. Unfortunately, I can't see the different aspects of Ernest's service during WWII.

I found Ernest on an Ancestry family tree which is owned by his nephew. I'll send these medals back to the family in the near future.

The returned medal tally is now 3043.

WWI WIA - Henry Tuck

This WWI War Medal awarded to 8071 PTE Henry Edward Tuck is another medal from Tasmania sent to me by Peter W.  

Henry first enlisted, aged 19, on 15 Marcy 1917 but was discharged as medically unfit only 15 days later. However, he was successfully in enlisting on 5 October 1917. On 23 August 1819, Henry was wounded in action. He received a gunshot wound to the right hand and chest. 

Henry died in 1971 and I have recently been in touch with his great grand son who I'll return the medal in the near future.

The returned medal tally is now 3041.

RAAF Military Working Dog Stella

This is an interesting return and a first for me.

This commemorative medal was sent to me by my contact at Defence Honours and Awards. Pictured is the Australian Defence Force Trackers and War Dogs Association, Canine Service Medal awarded to RAAF Military Working Dog 2213 Stella.

The search for Stella led me to Ray, a director of the retired MWD program. Stella is now retired and lives with her handler Drew. I have Stella's address and will send her medal to her, well to Drew, later this week

The returned medal tally is now 2040. 

Athol Bernard Healey

Another medal from the Peter W collection.

Athol Healey initially served in the militia with the number T42956 before transferring to the 2nd AIF with the number TX11620. He was a bit older than most soldiers enlisting at the age of 37. A read over his service record shows multiple periods of AWOL and the odd detention. 

I've been in contact with the Healey family and I'll send them this medal in the near future.

The returned medal tally is now 3039.

Partick 'Paddy' Maher

This is the second return of a medal from the Peter W collection.

2869 PTE Patrick Maher, know as Paddy, enlisted on 11 August 1915 at the age of 21. His occupation was listed as a plasterer. He was initially allocated to 12th Battalion but subsequently served in the 26th Battalion, AIF. He also spent time in other battalions which I suspect was mainly for administrative purposes. 

There are two notable occurrences in Paddy's service record. On 27 July 1917 he was wounded in action. He received a gun shot wound to his thigh. As a result he was evacuated and hospitalised in England. He was not discharged until August 1918.  

The second notable occurrence was he was AWOL from 1 October 1918 to 22 October 1918. He was awarded 21 days detention. Paddy was discharged from detention on Armistice Day.

Paddy died in 1956. I've been in touch with Paddy's great great granddaughter and will send her this medal in the near future.

The returned medal tally is now 3038.

WJ Barden - KIA

I was recently contacted by a Peter W who I have a connection with through military history research. Peter has forwarded to me 12 medals which he asked to be researched and returned to the veteran's families. The main link to all these medals is they are were awarded to Tasmanians.

This story is the first success for the peter W collection.

Walter Barden was 28 years old when he enlisted on 8 February 1916. He lists his occupation as a labourer but had previously completed an apprenticeship as a blacksmith. Walter was originally allocated to the 12th Battalion, AIF but transferred to the 40th Battalion, AIF on 23 September 1916. Walter headed to France in November 1916 and spent a bit of time in hospital over the Christmas - New Year period. 

While fighting in France, Walter was killed in action on 30 April 1917. He is buried in the Strand Military Cemetery. 

Walter's sister was Ellen and I have recently been in contact with her grand daughter, Marilyn. This  story was very much kept alive by the family and Marilyn still has all the documentation that was received about Walters burial. 

Walter's brother Arthur also served in WWI. He survived but was gassed which he never fully recovered from.

The returned medal tally is now 3037.

Walter Barden

Neil 'Fox' Mason

Fans of the film The Dish are going to enjoy this story.

I received an Australian Defence Medal awarded to Neil Francis Mason, know as Fox, from Col W of the Isis RSL sub-branch. Fox was awarded this medal for fulfilling his National Service obligation but it is his civilian career which is far more fascinating and will be familiar to many.

Fox was a member of the CSIRO staff at the Parkes radio telescope. He was part of the team during the Apollo 11 lunar landing. Specifically, 'Present in the control room were the NASA personnel, John Bolton, Dr Taffy Bowen, the PMG senior technical officer, Brian Coote, and Neil 'Fox' Mason, who was the driver given the responsibility to operate the dish at this historic moment.'

A more detailed description of the events of that day are at this link:

On Eagle's Wings: The Story of the Parkes Apollo 11 Support

This link is the ABC news story about the 40th anniversary of the landing.

Fond memories of 'the dish' for moon-landing veterans - ABC News

Fox was married to Ethel (Winkie) Phillips. He died in 2017 and is buried in the Parkes cemetery.

I have been in contact with Lynne from the Mason family and will be sending her Fox's medal in the near future. I was assisted in contacting Lynne through her cousin Barry.

The returned medal tally is now 3031.

WWI KIA - John (Jack) Alfrey Porter

Note: there are some issues with the links to Trove and other research resources. Redirections occur, but the page will open.

This pair of WWI medals are as well travelled as the soldier who was awarded them. Sadly, the soldier did not make his journey home as he was killed in action on 24 April 2017.

The Porter family was very prominent in colonial Australia. John Alfrey Porter was one of the early administrators of both New South Wales and Victoria. The soldier whose medals are being returned is also named John Alfrey Porter. This is two articles about the grandfather. This link is to his obituary:

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/241180009?searchTerm=%22John%20Alfrey%20Porter%22

This link details the John's will which shows how well off the family was.

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/202700572?searchTerm=%22John%20Alfrey%20Porter%22

Unfortunately, the family suffered a scandal. While the whole story is interesting the section about the Porters is in the left hand column.

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/201744494?searchTerm=%22John%20Alfrey%20Porter%22

There is another interesting story related to this family through the descendants of Jack Porter's sister Mary. Mary's son was John Villars, a philanthropist who established the John Villar's Trust for the benefit of Queensland communities. John's bio can be found at this link:

https://jvtrust.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/John-Villiers-Biography.pdf

Now to 29952 PTE 20052 PTE John Alfrey Porter. Know as Jack, PTE Porter served in the 1st Battalion of the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers. This was a regiment of the British Army. Unfortunately, the UK records are not a complete as those for the first AIF so I don't has much in the was of service details of Jack. The circumstances of him enlisting in a British Army regiment can only be speculated on. Usually this occurred when the individual was in the Britan rather then in Australia at the out break of war. What is known is that Jack was killed in action on 24 April 1917 at Monchy-le- Preux, France. He is commemorated at the Arras Memorial.

Private John Alfrey Porter | War Casualty Details 1604369 | CWGC

His mother published the following death notice in May 1917.

Jack's medals were sent to me by Jane C. They have been well looked after over the years. I have been in touch with a descendant of Jack's sister Ellen. This is Linden, who tells me that Ellen 'was close to her brother and was very affected by this death'. 

Thank you to Jane who sent me the medals. The returned medal tally is now 3030.