The Lost Memorial Scroll and Memorial Plaque
The Memorial Scroll bears the Royal Coat of Arms and a message which includes a tribute to the soldiers who gave up their own lives that others might live in freedom
The plaque shown belongs to the family of ‘Frank Robert Symons’. Frank was also a member of the 17th Battalion and may have know Claude personally.
The large, round, bronze Memorial Plaque shows Britannia and a lion on the front, surrounded by the inscription He died for freedom and honour.
The full name of the dead serviceman is engraved on the right hand side of the plaque. No rank, unit or decorations are shown, symbolising the equality of sacrifice of all casualties.
Claude’s Memorial Scroll and Plaque go missing
In the 1970’s Edward Claude Perkins’s memorial scroll and plaque went missing. My father had an association with a professional medal collector.
On one occasion, he gave the medal to the collector, however, over time he forgot he had passed the medal on. When we later commenced collecting Claude’s information, he was reminded that the collector had the medal.
In the early 2000’s years we’ve been able to contact the collector who is now quiet elderly and not well. The collector recognised and acknowledged that he may well have the two items.
He confirmed this by being able to produce a photocopy of magazine where he was interviewed about collecting military medals. Below is an image from the magazine.
If you look at the detailed image you will see Pte. Edward Claude Perkins 17th Battalion and in the top right hand corner you will see the address of the house in Leichhardt where the Perkins’ lived.
A further search by the collector revealed he no longer had the medallion and scroll in his possession. Being a professional collector, he believes that the medal is somewhere in hands of another professional medal collector.
He is distressed by this loss as we are and has offered some compensation for the loss.
One of the results that we hope comes from the publishing of this website is that the missing medallion and scroll for Edward Claude Perkins might be found and returned, or at the least located.
Where we’ve looked so far
There are several great resources for searching for medals. We are currently using these fantastic people and resources to help us locate the medals, however no luck at this stage.
- British Medals Forum This forum is a special interest group dedicated to British Medals.
- Lost Medals Australia This site is dedicated to returning medals to the veteran's nearest kin. Since 2000 the site author has been acquiring, researching and then returning lost medals to veterans or their families.
- Medals gone Missing – Worldwide Medals Register The aim of this site is to reunite families, with their lost heritage.
Can you help us find the missing medallion and scroll?
So, now we put it out to anyone reading this page. Is it possible you may know who has the missing medallion and scroll?
Do you know someone who collects military medals? They may be elderly and not have access to the web.
Do you visit any military shops the collect and re-sell medals?
If you do we would love to hear from you.
We acknowledge that there may have been some money changing hands for the medallion and scroll, especially if professional dealers are involved, however, the purpose of this request is just to locate the two items, nothing more.
If you know someone, or have a contact with someone you may think has the medallion and scroll, use the contact form below and drop us a line.
Kindest Regards,
Chris
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