June Mary Bassett - 1939-45 Australian Service Medal

This story started out as a search for the family of a pretty ordinary 1939-45 ASM but it turned out to be anything but.
I knew the medal was in the mail but when it arrived last Friday I soon found the medal itself was a little bit different. First of all this is the first ASM I've handled that was awarded to a female member of the RAAF. Secondly, the naming is a little different to most examples of the ASM. After WWII each service was responsible for the issue of medals and there was differences in the naming conventions. For example the majority of Army medals were impressed but RAAF medals were burr engraved as is the case with this one.
The medal was awarded to 91396 SGT June Mary Bassett who was part of the movements and transport organisation of the RAAF. I was able to follow June through the electoral rolls and work out that she never married and that she died in 2002.
I then started to look at the broader family. June's father, Arthur Brookes Bassett served in WWI as 853 Gunner Bassett in the Artillery. During WWII he first served as V80317 Private Bassett in a Garrison Battalion and then as 250904 Squadron Leader Bassett in the RAAF. Arthur divorced June's mother and remarried. He had another daughter from his second marriage but she has also died. The direct line of this family lead me to dead ends.
I found a family tree which started to make this search really interesting. Arthur's mother was Caroline Loxton who was the aunty of Australian cricketing great Sam Loxton. This made Sam the 3rd cousin of June but I knew there would be a closer relative so I had a look at Arthur's brother Walter Eric Bassett. I initially worked back wards through Walter's life but then had to move forward to locate his children. It is probably best to tell this part of the story chronologically.
Walter saw service as an engineer during WWI starting as a 2nd Lieutenant. In April 1916 he was awarded the Military Cross for conspicuous gallantry in action. Later in 1916 he commenced training as a navigator in the Australian Flying Corps and was taken on strength of the AFC in April 1917. Shortly after this, on 5 June 17, Walter received severe gunshot wounds. He took his discharge in England at the end of the war. I have found a family history website that has several photos of Walter during WWI and in his later life. I have reproduced a couple of these photos below.
Walter went on to have a distinguished career as an engineer. His Australian Dictionary of Biography entry makes interesting reading. In 1959 Walter was knighted and one of the photos I found shows Viscount Slim investing Sir Walter with his KBE. Unfortunately, WWII saw tragedy for Walter and his wife, Flora, when their eldest son Orme drowned while on active service. Orme is buried in the Ambon War Cemetery.
I'll be returning the medal to June's brother Peter who also served in the RAAF during WWII.
Thanks to Andrew C who sent me the medal and to John L who provide details on the Bassett family for me. Also thanks to the author of the Tales of a family website from which I borrowed some photos and information. The returned medal tally is now 1090.

Walter in England during WWI

Walter receiving his knighthood from Viscount Slim
















The photos is of group photo of No 4 Initial Training School, RAAF. June's brother Peter Bassett is in the centre row, 5th from the right.

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