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.

HMAS Kuttabul & The Midget Submarine Attack – Searching For Relatives Of Our Sailors

Contact from an Australian Militaria Collector to Medals Gone Missing has indicated that a set of war service medals, belonging to a sailor from the ‘wartime’  H.M.A.S Kuttabul have recently been sold on ebay.  Whilst at this time, the naming … Continue reading →

Posted in Honour Roll - Australian Stories, Military Medals | Tagged | 2 Comments

Too Big a Price To Pay! – the Creswick boys (Norman & Thomas) Killed In Action

The following account was written by Geoff CRAWFORD of Bowral in New South Wales Australia. These men were his ‘Great Uncles’ and their Memorial Plaques (also known as ‘Death Plaques’ and ‘Dead Man’s Penny’ are missing. Do you know where … Continue reading →

Posted in Honour Roll - Australian Stories, Military Medals | Tagged | 2 Comments

A Daughter’s Tribute to Verdun John Stanley BOORER – 2/33rd Battalion AIF

 My father was born at Stroud, NSW and at the time he enlisted was the eldest of nine children. He left school at the age of thirteen from Coolongolook Primary, to help support the family. The family had a dairy … Continue reading →

Posted in Honour Roll - Australian Stories | 8 Comments

Missing Militaria – Now Found – World War Two Australian Boots on the Kokoda Track

Whilst walking the Kokoda Track in 2008;  a comment made by one of my associates has prompted me to elaborate on an issue that is rarely even considered – let alone written about.               It concerns footwear – or more … Continue reading →

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No Picklehaube For Me! – Germans in Slouch Hats with the AIF, during World War 1

 Germans in the AIF (or should we say, men of German descent)  numbered in their thousands.  You need only peruse the First World War Embarkation Roll to see exactly how many men with Germanic names, actually served under the fur … Continue reading →

Posted in Honour Roll - Australian Stories, Honour Roll - German Stories, Military Medals | Leave a comment