Lost in transit: WWII medal set found at Wondai Post Office

A set of war medals mysteriously found at the Wondai Post office has been identified as the RSL continues to search for the owner.

The WW2 Medal set found at Wondai Post office suggests the owner served in the British Navy, according to Noel Selway

The Wondai RSL is working to reunite a set of WWII medals found at the region’s post office.

An RSL representative said they were unsure how long the medals had been lost for, saying it could have been years.

In hopes of reuniting the medals with their rightful owner, the RSL contacted the secretary of South Burnett Reserve Forces, Noel Selway, who researches service records.

Noel Selway’s daughter, Heather served in the navy for 16 years.

Mr Selway said they were miniatures – so there were no owner names or service numbers.

However he found they were likely from the United Kingdom and served in the navy.

“With nothing to identify who they may belong to, guesswork became the only lever of identifying who the veteran was,” Mr Selway said.

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Mr Selway was able to identify the medals as the 1939-1945 Star, Atlantic Star, Burma star, Defence Medal and the 1939-1945 War Medal.

The WWII medals from list from left to right: 1939-1945 Star, Atlantic Star, Burma star, Defence Medal and the 1939-1945 War Medal.

“Whoever they were awarded to were either a member of Coastal Command or in the British Eastern Fleet with service in either the RAF or as a sailor in the Royal navy,” he said.

“There is no Australian General Service Medal, so my guess is that the person comes from the UK.”

What Mr Selway found quite fascinating was the pairing of the Atlantic and Burma star, which was a strong indicator that they were in the navy.

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The Atlantic star was awarded to those who served in the battle of the Atlantic, fighting off Britain’s western shore against German naval vessels.

The Burma star was awarded to those who fought in the Indian command, fighting off the Coco islands and in the Indian Ocean.

The Defence medal was awarded to those who served three years defending their home front, with one year of service in a non operational area, or six months service overseas.

The set of the medals will be displayed at the RSL, until the owner comes forward.

“I really hope it gets reunited with its owner or their family, rather than being another set of lost medals,” Mr Selway said.

“That’s somebody’s history that needs to be reserved.”

Originally published as Lost in transit: WWII medal set found at Wondai Post Office