Police are seeking information that could reunite a service medal with its rightful owner.
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The origins of the medal, circa World War II, have police and history buffs looking for answers in a tale that stretches back to England.
Maitland police took custody of the medal last month but no one is yet to come forward with information aiding its return.
But Maitland RSL sub-branch vice-president Fred Goode has come forward with some clues that could reuinte the Mitchell Main Colliery – in the UK – medal with a descendent of the recipient.
“These men might not have been able to join the war but their services, mining for coal, kept the ships going,” he said.
“There was an influx of Welsh and English workers during ’20s and ’30s when the Cessnock mines were starting.”
The exact identity of the medal’s recipient is unclear.
Mr Goode interpreted the initials stamped in metal as Percy Afford – whom he has traced to Barnsley, England, as listed in the UK census of 1911.
Web documents revealed Percy Afford was 18 at the time and a colliery pony driver, near the Mitchell works in the Barnsley Borough.
“The medal could have been brought over in the ’50s, if not the ’20s or ’30s,” Mr Goode said.
“The connection to Australia remains unknown.”
Searching through Australian births, deaths and marriages Mr Goode found a listing for a Percy Camplin Afford, of Kogarah, in the 1960s.
A web search found a listing pointing to a death notice in the Sydney Morning Herald, on November 15, 1967.
If the man is the one, and same, he was 74 when he died at Kogarah Hospital.
“The case needs someone to sit down and look for the immigration documents, births, deaths and marriages for any possible descendents,” Mr Goode said.
Anyone with information about the possible owner of the medal can call Maitland police on 4934 0200.