Author Archives: gary

About gary

Gary Traynor is Administrator of the Militaria based website MEDALSGONEMISSING. The aim of this "NOT FOR PROFIT" website is to reunite families, with lost War Medals and other items of militaria which may have been awarded or issued to their ancestors. What Gary refers to as their "lost heritage". He has been actively involved in the preservation of Militaria and the researching of Military History for well over 29 years. During his travels, he has conducted numerous study trips to Gallipoli, The Western Front, Kokoda and many other major battle sites around the world. He was a member of the Australian Army Reserve (UNSWR & 4/3 RNSWR) and served for 23 years with the New South Wales Police Force. He was also priveleged to have served as a Volunteer Guide at the Australian War Memorial for a number of years. Gary now conducts tours of the Gallipoli Battlefields and the Kokoda Track in New Guinea. He leads the field in his knowledge of the beach head battlefields encompassing Buna, Gona & Sanananda. Medalsgonemissing is a website that will assist you in locating your family's lost war medals and other awards. If you have an ancestor who served in any of the British Commonwealth Armed Services at any time - and whose medals are lost/stolen or simply missing....then so long as the medals are out there - this site will help you to locate them. However the site also contains articles of interest in relation to Military History, War Memorials & Uniforms / kit. Please explore our website as there is sure to be something of interest to you.

Mystery Object – Can you help Identify this?

A piece of Militaria surfaced on ebay a little while ago – but nobody seems to know exactly what it is…..Can you help? Ebayer Cynthia Kelly; who hails from Seattle in Washington State U.S.A – found this badge at a … Continue reading →

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The 21st Lighthorse and an 03 Pattern Waterbottle

This short story is a classic example of how items of ‘kit’ were issued, and then re-issued within the Australian Army before and during the Second World War. In the modern era, this ‘kit is now classed as MILITARIA and … Continue reading →

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HMAS SYDNEY FOUND – BUT WAR MEDALS STILL MISSING?

HMAS SYDNEY – once considered to be one of Australia’s greatest mysteries of World War Two – has been found and is a mystery no longer.  But what of her ship’s company and their missing war medals? It is well … Continue reading →

Posted in Honour Roll - Australian Stories, Military Medals | Tagged | 11 Comments

How to Protect your War Medals & Militaria from Theft

Perhaps the most significant and shameful theft within the Militaria world – of all time has occurred in New Zealand. The Army Museum in Waiouru on the North Island has fallen victim to what can only be described as a … Continue reading →

Posted in Hints & Tips, Military Medals | 1 Comment

A fitting end to a Veteran’s War Medals

For those of you who pour over the ebay auction site – searching for War Medals; you may have noticed at least TWO recent instances where the seller has mentioned in their listing – that the medals on sale in … Continue reading →

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