The First World War Victory Medal of Major Bertram Lawrence HERDON has been returned after being missing for nearly 100 years, just in time for the Centenary of Remembrance Day.  The medal return took place at the ANZAC Memorial in Sydney Australia …. a long way from where Bertram served during the Great War.

Victory Medal awarded to then Lieutenant Bertram Lawrence HERDON who served with the Indian Army during the Great War. This medal was returned to his descendants nearly 100 years after the Great War ended.

Major Bertram HERDON served with the Indian Army during the First World War.   At this time, Bertram was a Lieutenant and his service on the Indian frontier meant that he was spared from the carnage that was the Western Front.

This Victory Medal was found during 2016 by a British medal collector Angus McLeod who was travelling through Krakow in Poland and saw the award pinned to a French uniform.  Knowing that the medal did not historically relate to that particular uniform, he managed through broken German to convince the shop owner to sell the medal separately.  When Angus returned to his home in Spain and began to research the medal recipient, he located details about Bertram Lawrence HERDON on the genealogy  website Ancestry.com and made contact.  The wonderful staff at Ancestry Australia made contact with Medals Gone Missing and this medal return then became a real international affair.

David HERDON of Australia is the great nephew of Bertram HERDON and Medals Gone Missing tracked him down using Ancestry’s resources; and the rest is history.  The medal was returned by Ancestry’s Jason Reeve at the ANZAC Memorial in Sydney, just in time for the Centenary of Remembrance Day.

Many thanks go out to Ancestry.com for this amazing piece of community service which proves they are not just into genealogy for the commercial interests.  As usual, Medals Gone Missing researcher extraordinaire Sandra Smith went above and beyond the call of duty to facilitate his medal return.

When Queensland Police put out a call for help to find the owner of a set of stolen war medals, super sleuth and Chief Research Officer Sandra SMITH of Medals Gone Missing answered the call.  Proving that being in a different state is no barrier when you have the help of an organisation such as Ancestry.com behind you.  In fact, with resources such as those provided by Ancestry.com, we can help you no matter which part of the world you live!

The stolen war medal surrendered to Queensland Police. Medals Gone Missing helped return this 1914-1915 Star back to its rightful family.

The stolen war medals of Lieutenant Norman Crewe NEVITT were located in a garden near Redcliffe Hospital in Brisbane, Queensland.  The stolen medals were surrendered to Queensland Police in Redcliffe who made extensive inquiries with all persons whose surname matched – unfortunately with a negative result.  So in June 2018 the call for help went out Australia wide and luckily, Sandra heard a radio interview asking for assistance.  As usual, Sandra’s research backed by Ancestry.com turned up trumps and it was discovered that Lieutenant NEVITT had two daughters.  So upon discovering that one daughter married into a family named Papworth, the problem was solved and Sandra SMITH from Medals Gone Missing supplied Redcliffe Police with details of James Papworth ….. the grandson of Lieutenant Norman Crewe NEVITT.  Please click on this link to read the story put out on the myPoliceQueensland website.

When this stolen Victory Medal awarded to Lieutenant Norman Crewe NEVITT was surrendered to Queensland Police, Medals Gone Missing came to the fore and solved the mystery.

According to records held at the Australian War Memorial (AWM) Norman NEVITT enlisted as a Private and was allocated the Service Number 669.  He was posted to the 1st Australian Light Horse Brigade Headquarters and rose through the ranks, gaining his commission as a Lieutenant.

It is stories such as this which prove that all hope is not lost – should you become the victim of some unscrupulous thief.  Medals Gone Missing were very proud to return the stolen war medals of Captain Harry KATEKAR way back in 2010 to his daughters.  The Second World War medals had been stolen 27 years earlier, so miracles do happen!  Should you lose your medals or become a victim of theft, simply report this matter to Police and then submit a listing with Medals Gone Missing.  With wonderful volunteers such as Sandra SMITH backing you up, you just never know when you will receive the call stating that your medals have been found.

The stolen war medals of Lieutenant NEVITT are returned by Police to his grandson James Papworth. Photo courtesy of Queensland Police.

The First World War medals awarded to Raymond Stanley MARRIOTT are in the possession of NSW Police.  The Great War trio consists of the 1914-1915 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal.

The 1914-1915 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal, similar to those awarded to Raymond Stanley MARRIOTT who served in the 7 Field Company Engineers during the First World War.

The medals are impressed with his service details:- 5410 R.S. MARRIOTT 7 FCE

The Australian War Memorial ‘First World War Embarkation Roll’ states that he left Australia on board HMAT Hororata as a reinforcement to the 1st Divisional Ammunition Column.  As indicated by the impression on his war service medals, he later transferred to the 7 Field Company Engineers.

Australian War Memorial First World War Embarkation Roll containing the details of Raymond Stanley MARRIOTT. Are you a descendant of this man?

As of this date (16 October 2018) , these medals are currently in possession of NSW Police.  If these medals belong to your family or you are a direct descendant of Raymond Stanley MARRIOTT, please contact Medals Gone Missing via this website or telephone 044 969 2401 for further details.